Intravascular catheter having an expandable incising portion

1. An intravascular catheter device for treating atherosclerotic material located within a blood vessel, said intravascular catheter device comprising:

a catheter tube;

an expandable portion secured to a distal portion of said catheter tube and comprising a plurality of struts pivotably attached to the expandable portion at a first end and free at a second end for movement between a first position where the struts extend along a longitudinal axis of the expandable portion and a second position where the struts splay outwardly at a non-zero acute angle from relative to the longitudinal axis of the expandable portion and are supported in a cantilevered fashion;

an incising element extending along a length of, and outward from, one of the plurality of struts and having a sharpened edge configured to create an incision in the atherosclerotic material when the expandable portion is placed in the second position and retracted axially through the blood vessel; and

a tip member supported for sliding movement along inner surfaces of each of the plurality of struts, wherein retraction of the tip member is configured to force each of the plurality of struts from the first position to the second position.

2. The intravascular catheter device of claim 1 further comprising:

an inner sleeve disposed within the catheter tube and attached to the tip member wherein said inner sleeve is supported for sliding movement within the catheter tube.

3. The intravascular catheter device of claim 2 wherein:

each of the plurality of struts extend along an outer surface of the inner sleeve when the expandable portion is in the first position.

4. The intravascular catheter device of claim 3 wherein:

each of the plurality of struts are rigid.

5. The intravascular catheter device of claim 4 wherein:

each of the plurality of struts are straight-line members.

6. The intravascular catheter device of claim 2 further comprising:

a handle assembly secured to an end of the catheter tube; and

a control member moveably supported at the handle assembly and mechanically connected to the inner sleeve, wherein said control member is configured to selectively control movement of the expandable portion between the first position and the second position.

7. The intravascular catheter device of claim 1 wherein:

said sharpened edge extends parallel with the longitudinal axis of the expandable portion when the expandable portion is in the first position.

8. The intravascular catheter device of claim 1 wherein:

the incising element extends along an entire length of the at least one of the plurality of struts; and

the sharpened edge extends along an entire length of the upper surface of the incising element.

9. The intravascular catheter device of claim 1 wherein:

each of the plurality of struts extend in a substantially linear fashion along substantially an entire length thereof.

10. The intravascular catheter device of claim 1 wherein:

the struts are biased in the second position.

11. The intravascular catheter device of claim 10 further comprising:

a protective sheath supported for sliding movement along an outer surface of the catheter tube to control movement of the expandable portion between the first position and the second position.

12. The intravascular catheter device of claim 1 wherein:

the incising element extends outwardly in a radial direction from an outer surface of the at least one of the plurality of struts such that said sharpened edge defines an arcuate shape.

13. A method for treating atherosclerotic material located within a blood vessel, said method comprising the steps of:

providing an intravascular device comprising a catheter tube, an expandable portion secured to said catheter tube and comprising a plurality of struts attached to the expandable portion at a first end in a fashion which permits pivoting movement between a first position where the struts extend along a longitudinal axis of the expandable portion and a second position where the struts splay outwardly at a non-zero acute angle from the longitudinal axis, an incising element having a sharpened edge associated with at least one of the plurality of struts, and a tip member configured for axial movement relative to the expandable portion, wherein a second end of each of said plurality of struts is free such that said plurality of struts are supported in a cantilevered fashion when in said second position;

locating the intravascular device within the blood vessel;

placing the expandable portion in the second position by retracting the tip member relative to the expandable portion; and

retracting the expandable portion while in the second position to create incisions along the atherosclerotic material.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the expandable portion is placed in the second position by movement of a control member located at a handle assembly;

the control member is connected to an inner sleeve located within said catheter tube;

the inner sleeve is attached to the tip member; and

movement of the control member is translated into movement of said tip member by way of said inner sleeve.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein:

each of the plurality of struts are rigid members which extend in a linear fashion along an outer surface of the inner sleeve when the expandable portion is in the first position.

16. An intravascular catheter device comprising:

a catheter tube;

an expandable portion connected to said catheter tube and comprising struts attached to said expandable portion at a first end and free at a second end;

an inner sleeve configured for sliding movement within the catheter tube;

a tip member connected to said inner sleeve for sliding movement along inner surfaces of the struts upon sliding movement of said inner sleeve to pivot the struts between a first position where said struts extend along said inner sleeve and a splayed position where said struts splay outward at a non-zero acute angle from a longitudinal axis of the expandable portion and are supported in a cantilevered fashion; and

an incising element extending outward from and along at least a portion of an outer surface of at least one of the struts in a lengthwise direction, wherein the incising element is configured for scoring atherosclerotic material located within a zone of treatment within a blood vessel when the expandable portion is placed in the splayed position and moved axially within the zone of treatment.