| abstract |
A steerable direct myocardial revascularization catheter comprises a catheter body, a tip section and a control handle. The catheter body has an outer wall, proximal and distal ends and at least one lumen extending therethrough. The tip section comprises flexible tubing having proximal and distal ends and at least one lumen therethrough. The proximal end of the tip section is fixedly attached to the distal end of the catheter body. The control handle comprises a first member fixedly attached to the proximal end of the catheter body, a second member being movable relative to the first member, and a first guide tube extending through the control handle from the proximal end to the distal end of the control handle. The first guide tube is fixedly attached to one of the first or second members. The catheter also comprises an optic fiber having a distal end and a proximal end. The optic fiber extends through and is afforded lengthwise movement through the first guide tube in the control handle, a lumen in the catheter body and a lumen in the tip section. The distal end of the optic fiber is substantially flush with the distal end of the tip section. The catheter further comprises a puller wire extending from the control handle through a lumen in the catheter body and into an off axis lumen in the catheter tip section. The distal end of the puller wire is anchored to the tip section at a location along the length of the tip section, and the proximal end of the puller wire is anchored to the second member of the control handle. |