Patent ID: 7875049

Claim:
An apparatus for providing access to a body lumen, comprising: a tubular member extending from a proximal end thereof to a distal end thereof, the tubular member defining a lumen that extends from the proximal end to the distal end, the proximal end including a handle of the apparatus, and the distal end being tapered and sized for insertion into the body lumen; an elongate member extending distally, from the distal end of the tubular member, to a terminal distal tip of the elongate member, the elongate member being fixedly attached to the tubular member; an expandable sheath including a proximal end and a distal terminal end, the proximal end of the expandable sheath being fixedly attached to the distal end of the tubular member such that the proximal end of the sheath surrounds and overlies the distal end of the tubular member, the sheath extending distally from the distal end of the tubular member, over a length that is less than an overall length of the tubular member, and along at least a portion of the elongate member, the sheath being expandable from a contracted condition to an enlarged condition, at which enlarged condition the sheath defines a lumen, the sheath lumen communicating with the tubular member lumen and including a distal opening, the distal opening terminating the sheath lumen and being defined by a portion of a perimeter of the distal terminal end of the sheath that becomes spaced apart from the elongate member, when the expandable sheath is expanded, and the distal opening allowing passage, therethrough, of a medical instrument into the body lumen, the medical instrument having been passed through the tubular member lumen and through the sheath lumen, alongside the elongate member; and a steering element coupled to the distal tip of the elongate member for causing the distal tip to bend when the steering element is actuated.