Patent ID: 8226619

Claim:
A system for positioning a catheter in an intervertebral disc of a patient, the intervertebral disc having an annulus and a nucleus, the system comprising: a needle sized to extend along a longitudinal axis through a skin of the patient and through the annulus into the nucleus, the needle having a proximal portion and a distal portion, the needle having an interior surface defining a lumen extending from the proximal portion to the distal portion, the distal portion having a closed distal tip such that the lumen abuts the closed distal tip, the interior surface of the lumen forming a deflection ramp adjacent the closed distal end, the deflection ramp having an oblique angle relative to the longitudinal axis, the distal portion having an exterior surface with a side port formed within the exterior surface adjacent the closed distal tip, the side port defining an opening having a length, a width, and a depth, the side port in communication with the inner lumen such that the at least a portion of the opening of the side port extends over the deflection ramp; and a catheter sized to fit inside the lumen of the needle and extend into the nucleus without the use of a guidewire, the catheter having a flexible distal end configured to flex to advance out the elongated side port of the needle when the catheter is being introduced through the lumen, the flexible distal end comprising an expandable balloon configured to expand with the intervertebral disc to displace bone and form an anchoring location within the intervertebral disc, wherein the expandable balloon is structurally configured and sized to pass through the side port, and wherein the deflection ramp is structurally configured to guide the catheter through the opening in the side port at an angle determined in part by the oblique angle of the deflection ramp.