Rotationally torquable endovascular device with actuatable working end

1 . An endovascular device, including:

a hollow shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, the hollow shaft being sized for insertion into a blood vessel;

a control line having a proximal end and a distal end, extending through the hollow shaft, and having at least a portion including a non-circular cross-sectional shape, interaction between the non-circular cross-sectional shape and a shape of an inner cross section of the hollow shaft preventing axial rotation between the control line and the hollow shaft;

a distal tip coupled proximate to the distal end of the hollow shaft, the distal tip attached to and configured to receive an actuation force transmitted via the distal end of the control line; and

a handle configured to exert the actuation force on the proximal end of the control line, to thereby cause relative movement between the control line and the hollow shaft and to actuate the distal tip, wherein:

the hollow shaft includes a cable formed of a plurality of wound wires;

the cable includes:

a proximal segment including a first number of wound wires of the plurality of wound wires,

at least one transition segment including a second number of wound wires of the plurality of wound wires, and

a distal segment including a third number of wound wires of the plurality of wound wires;

wherein the first number of wound wires is different to the second number of wound wires and is different to the third number of wound wires; and

wherein the second number of wound wires is different from the third number of wound wires.

2 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein:

the second number of wound wires is less than the first number of wound wires; and

the third number of wound wires is less than the second number of wound wires.

3 . The endovascular device of claim 2 , wherein:

the first number of wires are wound at a first pitch angle;

the second number of wires are wound at a second pitch angle; and

the third number of wires are wound at a third pitch angle.

4 . The endovascular device of claim 3 , wherein the first pitch angle is determined for the proximal segment based on at least one of a diameter of the plurality of wound wires in the proximal segment, the first number of wound wires and a diameter of a winding mandrel in the proximal segment,

wherein the second pitch angle is determined for the at least one transition segment based on at least one of a diameter of the plurality of wound wires in the transition segment, the second number of wound wires and a diameter of the winding mandrel in the transition segment, and

wherein the third pitch angle is determined for the distal segment, based on at least one of a diameter of the plurality of wound wires in the distal segment, the third number of wound wires, and a diameter of the winding mandrel in the distal segment.

5 . The endovascular device of claim 3 , wherein:

the first pitch angle is less than the second pitch angle; and

the second pitch angle is less than the third pitch angle.

6 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of wound wires extends continuously from the proximal segment to a distal end of the distal segment of the cable.

7 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein the distal segment has a flexibility greater than a flexibility of the proximal segment.

8 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one transition segment includes at least a first transition segments, a second transition segment, and a third transition segment, wherein the first transition segment includes a different number of wound wires of the plurality of wound wires than the second transition segment and the third transition segment; and wherein the second transition segment includes a different number of wound wires of the plurality of wound wires than the third transition segment.

9 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein a rotational force exerted on the proximal end of the hollow shaft causes a rotational force to be applied to the distal tip, a ratio of the rotational force exerted on the proximal end of the hollow shaft to the rotational force applied to the distal tip being approximately 1:1.

10 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein the cable is configured to transfer rotational torque to the distal end of the distal tip when the proximal end of the hollow shaft is rotated, wherein the at least a portion of the control line having non-circular cross section resists rotation during rotation of the cable.

11 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein the cross-sectional shape of the inner cross section of the hollow shaft, for at least a portion of the hollow shaft is non-circular.

12 . The endovascular device of claim 11 , wherein for the at least a portion of the control line which has a non-circular cross section, the non-circular cross section has a rectangular or flattened cross sectional shape.

13 . The endovascular device of claim 11 , wherein the at least a portion of the control line having a non-circular cross-sectional shape has an axially overlaps with the at least a portion of the hollow shaft which has a cross-sectional shape of the inner cross section which is non-circular, interaction between cross-sectional shapes of overlapping non-circular cross-sectional shaped portions of the control line and the hollow shaft prevents axial rotation between the control line and the hollow shaft.

14 . The endovascular device of claim 13 , wherein the relative movement between the control line and the hollow shaft has a smaller extent than an axial extent of the overlap, a portion of the control line having non-circular cross section overlapping with a portion of the hollow shaft having non-circular cross section even during the relative movement between the control line and the hollow shaft.

15 . The endovascular device of claim 11 , wherein the cable has a circular cross section;

wherein the endovascular device comprises an element attached to an inner wall of the cable to provide the non-circular inner cross section of the at least a portion of the hollow shaft.

16 . The endovascular device of claim 2 , wherein each wire of the third number of wires of the distal segment extends continuously from the proximal segment, through the at least one transition segment to the distal segment, without any connection points between wires along the cable.

17 . The endovascular device of claim 16 , wherein each wire of the second number of wires of the at least one transition segment extends continuously from the proximal segment to the at least one transition segment.

18 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the control line, other than the at least a portion of the control line including a non-round cross section, has a circular cross section.

19 . The endovascular device of claim 10 , wherein the non-circular cross section of the at least a portion of the control line prevents axial rotation of the control line during axial rotation of the cable without preventing axial movement of the control line.

20 . The endovascular device of claim 1 , wherein the handle is attached to the proximal end of the hollow shaft;

wherein the handle comprises a slider which is attached to a proximal end of the control line.

21 . The endovascular device of claim 13 , wherein the distal tip is configured to bend relative to the hollow shaft in response to the actuation force.