Patent ID: 7645260

Claim:
A catheter for use with a wire for therapeutic or diagnostic applications, the catheter comprising: an outer tube having proximal and distal ends; an inner tube having proximal and distal ends and a working lumen extending therethrough, the inner tube being disposed within the outer tube; an auxiliary tube having proximal and distal ends, an auxiliary lumen and a rigid tubular member, the auxiliary lumen extending through the auxiliary tube and the rigid tubular member, wherein the auxiliary lumen communicates at the proximal end with a side port disposed in a lateral surface of the outer tube and at a distal end communicates with the working lumen of the inner tube to define a bifurcation, the rigid tubular member disposed in the auxiliary tube at a location just proximal to the bifurcation, wherein the auxiliary lumen is configured to permit the selective advancement of the wire to a treatment site via a distal portion of the working lumen that is distal to the bifurcation.