Patent ID: 7666163

Claim:
A catheter for an interventional surgical procedure comprising: an actuator body having an expandable section operable between an unexpanded furled state and an expanded unfurled state, wherein the expandable section has an involute cross section in the furled state that forms a protected recess, wherein the protected recess encompasses the central longitudinal axis of the actuator body when the expandable section is furled, and an expanded cross section in the unfurled state; a needle carried by the actuator body, the needle including a shaft having a fluid pathway therein, the shaft having a longitudinal axis that extends transversely relative to a central longitudinal axis of the actuator body, wherein the needle is fully received within the protected recess when the actuator body is in the furled state; a first fluid supply pathway for delivering an activating fluid to expand the expandable section; a second fluid supply pathway for delivering a therapeutic or diagnostic agent to the needle fluid pathway to facilitate injecting the agent into a vessel wall during an interventional surgical procedure; and wherein the expandable section may be transformed from the furled state to the unfurled state by delivering activating fluid to the expandable section and the expandable section may be transformed from the unfurled state to the furled state by withdrawing fluid from the expandable section.