Patent ID: 8366674

Claim:
A threaded introducer system for accessing a bodily passageway, the introducer system comprising: a flexible tube having a distal end and a proximal end, a longitudinal axis extending between the distal end and the proximal end, and a lumen extending from the distal end to the proximal end, the lumen being sized to receive an object to be transported through the bodily passageway; apparatus for connecting the object received within the lumen to the tube, the apparatus comprising a rotary coupling portion attached to the tube such that the rotary coupling portion may rotate freely about the longitudinal axis of the tube while being longitudinally fixed to the tube, and an attachment portion mounted to the tube such that the attachment portion selectively grips the object; and an external thread disposed over the distal end of the tube, the external thread having a sufficient structural integrity, and a sufficient surface profile, such that when the tube is disposed in a bodily passageway, rotation of the tube about the longitudinal axis will result in longitudinal motion of the tube along said bodily passageway.