Patent ID: 6875229

Claim:
A catheter assembly for treating bifurcated vessels having a side-branch vessel and a main vessel, comprising: a catheter having a proximal end and a distal end; an expandable member proximal to the distal end of the catheter; a tracking guide wire lumen extending within at least a portion of the catheter; a tracking guide wire having a distal end and a proximal end and sized for slidable movement within the tracking guide wire lumen; a positioning guide wire lumen associated with the expandable member wherein at least a portion of the positioning guide wire lumen is external to the catheter; a positioning guide wire having a distal end and a proximal end and sized for slidable movement within the positioning guide wire lumen; the positioning guide wire lumen having a distal section lumen for removably retaining the distal end of the positioning guide wire during delivery of the catheter through the vasculature to the bifurcated vessel; and the distal section lumen of the positioning guide wire lumen having a dead-end so that the distal end of the positioning guide wire does not extend distally through the distal section.