Patent ID: 7547304

Claim:
A catheter assembly comprising a catheter tube having a lumen, a longitudinal axis, a length, a luminal surface, a tip portion located at a very distal tip of the catheter assembly, said tip portion having a distal end that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the catheter tube, and a device at least partially contained within and movable through the lumen of the entire length of the catheter tube, said catheter tube having centering means projecting from the luminal surface of only the tip portion wherein a distal-most portion of said centering means is coplanar with the distal end of the catheter tube, said centering means arranged such that when the device is moved through the lumen of the catheter tube the device remains substantially centered relative to the tip portion at the very distal tip of the catheter assembly as it emerges from the tip portion of the catheter tube when the tip portion of the catheter tube is in a bent state, the centering means having an inside diameter slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the device, and wherein said centering means and said tip portion are integrally formed of one material.