Patent ID: 7914519

Claim:
A connector for coupling to a guiding catheter and comprising: a housing defining a conduit which is adapted to communicate with the interior of a guiding catheter when said connector is coupled to said guiding catheter, said housing including first and second housing portions which are manually axially displaceable relative to one another thereby to position said first and second housing portions in various relative mutual axial orientations; a selectably openable normally closed valve associated with said conduit for selectable sealing thereof, said selectably openable valve having an open state, a closed state and at least one partially open state realized by suitable relative axial displacement of said first and second housing portions resulting in suitable relative mutual axial orientation thereof and permitting at least one elongate element to extend therethrough, even when said valve is in said closed state, said selectably openable valve including a spring which urges said valve towards said closed state; and an automatically engageable and manually disengageable valve state governing mechanism operative for automatically retaining said valve in said open state and in said at least one partially open state against the urging of said spring.