Patent ID: 7422580

Claim:
A method of catheter manipulation, comprising: providing a catheter comprising a flexible shaft having a distal end shaped for accessing a target vessel; moving the shaft between a plurality of first discrete indexing positions in a first degree-of-freedom defined relative to the flexible shaft while mechanically restraining a motion of the shaft in a second degree of freedom; and moving the shaft in the second degree-of-freedom defined relative to the shaft between a plurality of second discrete indexing positions while mechanically restraining a motion of the shaft in the first degree-of-freedom between each position of the plurality of second discrete indexing positions, wherein a handle assembly is coupled to a proximal end of the flexible shaft, and performing the selectably moving, restraining motion, and moving steps to the flexible shaft is facilitated by relative movement between a serpentine slot arrangement and a pin arrangement that moveably couple the flexible shaft and the handle assembly.