Patent ID: 7798992

Claim:
A method of traversing an internal lumen of a body, comprising: a. inserting a lumen traversing device having an elongate body extending from a proximal end to a distal end and including immediately adjacent distal and proximal mesh tubing elements; b. moving at least one proximal actuating rod to radially expand the proximal tubing element such that a length of the proximal tubing element decreases, wherein an outer surface of the expanded proximal tubing element engages an inner surface of the lumen; c. moving at least one distal actuating rod to radially contract the distal tubing element such that a length of the distal tubing element increases, and moving proximal and distal ends of the radially-contracted distal tubing element distally away from the immediately adjacent proximal tubing element; d. moving the at least one distal actuating rod to radially expand the distal tubing element such that a length of the distal tubing element decreases, wherein an outer surface of the expanded distal tubing element engages the inner surface of the lumen; e. moving the at least one proximal actuating rod to radially contract the proximal tubing element such that a length of the proximal tubing element increases, and moving proximal and distal ends of the radially-contracted proximal tubing element distally toward the distal tubing element; and f. repeating steps b-e until the device reaches a desired site within the lumen.