Patent ID: 8690904

Claim:
A conduit for use in apparatus and methods for percutaneous access to blood vessels or other target organs in a human body comprising: an elongate hollow tubular structure sized to fit within a body cavity and to access a human body structure, said tubular structure being open at both ends and having a proximal end and a distal end and a wall enclosing an inner passageway, said distal end angled from 20 to 80 degrees relative to the straight longitudinal axis of said tubular structure to create an angled opening at said distal end, said angled distal end comprising a forward tip located at a distal portion of said angled distal end and a rearmost point located at a proximal portion of said angled distal end, said tubular structure being axially straight over its entire length and having a longitudinal groove formed into an inner surface of said wall extending to said rearmost point at said angled distal end, said longitudinal groove being straight over its entire length.