Patent ID: 7077841

Claim:
An assembly for treating a tissue region comprising a catheter tube having a distal end, an expandable structure comprising first and second spines arranged in a desired circumferential array to define a basket assembly projecting beyond the distal end of the catheter tube and including a far end, and a distal tip assembly having a proximal region and a distal region and projecting beyond the far end of the basket assembly, the distal tip assembly including a rigid first member adapted to engage at least one of the first and second spines to maintain the first and second spines in the desired circumferential array, and a less rigid second member, the second member being sized and configured to overlap the first member, at least in part, to couple the first and second members, whereby the second member extends beyond the first member to provide a gradient of decreasing stiffness from the proximal region to the distal region.