Patent ID: 8798721

Claim:
A navigation system for use in advancing a needle through a vasculature to an injection site at the heart of a patient which comprises: a guide catheter defining an axis and having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the guide catheter is reconfigurable and is formed with a lumen extending between the ends thereof for advancing the needle through the lumen of the guide catheter, and wherein the guide catheter has a bendable section located along a distal portion of the guide catheter; a reflective tip attached to the bendable section at the distal end of the guide catheter; a transceiver integrated with the guide catheter and mounted for axial movement back and forth along the guide catheter to radiate an energy field in a radial direction from the axis of the guide catheter; and an actuator configured to move the transceiver to intercept reflected energy from the reflective tip on the guide catheter to create a signal from the reflective tip on the guide catheter, for receipt by the transceiver on the guide catheter, to determine where the reflective tip is located in the energy field, to reconfigure the guide catheter and position the distal tip for advancing the needle from the guide catheter into the injection site.