Patent ID: 7267663

Claim:
A guiding catheter system, comprising: a flexible shaft having a distal end shaped for accessing a target vessel; and a handle assembly movably coupled to the flexible shaft, the handle assembly comprising a guide member attached to the shaft and a housing movably coupled to the guide member via a multiple-slot and pin arrangement, the flexible shaft selectably movable between a plurality of discrete indexing positions of a first degree-of-freedom defined relative to the flexible shaft, the flexible shaft restrained in the first degree-of-freedom at each indexing position of the plurality of discrete indexing positions by the multiple-slot and pin arrangement, the flexible shaft movable through a predetermined displacement of a second degree-of-freedom defined relative to the flexible shaft at each indexing position of the plurality of discrete indexing positions; and wherein the slot and pin arrangement includes a serpentine slot provided on the guide member slidably coupled to a pin provided on the housing, and motion of the flexible shaft relative to the handle assembly results in a controllable sweeping motion at the distal end of the flexible shaft.