Patent ID: 7993303

Claim:
A support catheter comprising: a catheter body having selectively variable stiffness, the catheter body having a proximal end, a distal end, and an interior wall surface defining a first lumen extending from the proximal end toward the distal end; a second lumen disposed between the interior wall surface and an outer surface of the catheter body; and a plurality of stiffening members disposed between the first lumen and the second lumen, the catheter body having a first flexible state in which the plurality of stiffening members are in a first unengaged, non-intermeshed, non-stiffening state and the catheter body having a second stiffened state in which the plurality of stiffening members are in a second engaged, stiffening state wherein the plurality of stiffening members in the second engaged, stiffening state intermesh with one another to selectively stiffen the catheter body.