Patent ID: 7547294

Claim:
An actuator for an interventional surgical procedure comprising: an actuator body having a distal end and a proximal end, a central expandable section located between the distal end and the proximal end, said expandable section having an opening along its length and being operable between an unactuated condition in which said expandable section is in a furled state having an involute cross section and an actuated condition in which said expandable section is in an unfurled state, wherein the expandable section includes a protected recess having a depth greater than 60% of the width of the actuator body; and a needle on said expandable section, said needle having a shaft and a sharp tip at an end of the shaft, and being movable in an approximately perpendicular direction relative to a central longitudinal axis of said actuator body from a position within said actuator body with the sharp tip positioned radially inward from the opening to a position outside of said actuator body when said expandable section is caused to change from said furled state to said unfurled state, wherein the needle shaft has a longitudinal axis that extends substantially radially and substantially orthogonally relative to the longitudinal axis of the actuator body when the expandable section is in an unfurled state, and wherein the sharp tip is located radially away from an attachment point of the needle to the expandable section of the actuator body, and wherein the needle is disposed radially within the protected recess and has a length equal to at least 60% of the width of the actuator body, and wherein the needle is fully extendable in a radial direction from the protected recess to penetrate a luminal wall when the actuator is in a body lumen, and wherein the needle tip includes an outlet port and the needle further includes a fluid delivery conduit suitable for delivering an agent to the outlet port to facilitate delivering the agent into a luminal wall when the actuator is in a body lumen.