Patent ID: 8377041

Claim:
A visualization system for deployment in a bodily passageway, the visualization 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; visualization apparatus adapted to be received within the lumen of said tube; an external helical thread disposed over at least the distal end of said tube, said external helical thread having a sufficient structural integrity, and a sufficient surface profile, such that when said tube is disposed in a bodily passageway, rotation of said tube about the longitudinal axis results in longitudinal motion of said tube along the bodily passageway; and a powered drive adapted for attachment to and detachment from said tube proximate the proximal end of said tube, and adapted to engage said tube along a selected portion of an external surface of said tube for rotating said tube.