Patent ID: 8251977

Claim:
A catheter steering mechanism, the steering mechanism including: a tubular member defining a passage, the tubular member having an elongate, longitudinally extending, cutaway portion defining a bend-enhancing region formed at a predetermined location along a length of the tubular member, the cutaway portion having radiused proximal and distal transition regions for stress relief purposes with the proximal transition region having a greater radius than the distal transition region so that the proximal transition region is longer, in the longitudinal direction of the tubular member, than the distal transition region; an actuator received in the passage of the tubular member to be co-axial with the tubular member, a distal part of the actuator being fast with a distal part of the tubular member; and a restraining arrangement defined by the tubular member, the restraining arrangement comprising a structure arranged at the bend-enhancing region to retain the actuator substantially within the confines of the tubular member during bending, such that applying a longitudinal force to the actuator applies a force to the tubular member, due to the respective distal ends of the actuator and tubular member being fast with one another, and causes a bending of the actuator and tubular member at the bend-enhancing region of the tubular member to steer a catheter in a desired lateral direction.