Elongated medical sheath

1. An apparatus, comprising:

an elongated medical sheath configured to be movable and positionable proximate to a biological feature of a patient; and

an expandable-and-collapsible support structure configured to be selectively movable, at least in part, between a collapsed state within an interior of the elongated medical sheath and an expanded state at an exterior of the elongated medical sheath, the expandable-and-collapsible support structure including an expandable-and-collapsible cage structure having a distal section and a proximal section; and

an energy-emitting assembly being supported by the expandable-and-collapsible support structure, the energy-emitting assembly includes:

energy-emitting devices, one or more of the energy-emitting devices being positioned at the distal section of the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure and being configured to puncture the biological feature of a patient while the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure is in a collapsed state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

said energy-emitting devices include:

electrodes being supported by the expandable-and-collapsible support structure.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

the expandable-and-collapsible support structure includes:

an elongated member extending from the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure; and

the elongated member is configured to be movable along the interior of the elongated medical sheath.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein:

at least one of the energy-emitting devices is positioned at the proximal section of the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure, and is configured to dilate a puncture hole.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein:

the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure is configured to fit in, and be movable along, the interior of the elongated medical sheath in such a way that once the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure is received in the interior of the elongated medical sheath, the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure is placed in a storage condition.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein:

the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure, once deployed, forms a tear drop shape in an expanded state.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein:

the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure, once deployed, forms a tapered proximal section in an expanded state.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein:

the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure, once deployed, is configured to expand radially at the distal section of the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure.

9. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein:

the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure is configured to form a spiral-shaped formation.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein elbows or bends of the expandable-and-collapsible support structure are formed of a metal softer than other portions of the expandable-and-collapsible support structure.

11. A method of operating an elongated medical sheath configured to be movable and positionable proximate to a biological feature of a patient, the method comprising:

selectively moving, at least in part, an expandable-and-collapsible support structure supporting an energy-emitting assembly between a collapsed state within an interior of the elongated medical sheath and an expanded state at an exterior of the elongated medical sheath, wherein the expandable-and collapsible support structure includes an expandable-and-collapsible cage structure having a distal section and a proximal section, and the energy-emitting assembly includes energy-emitting devices, one or more of the energy-emitting devices being positioned at and supported by the distal section of the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure and being configured to puncture the biological feature of a patient while the expandable-and-collapsible cage is in a collapsed state.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

using the one or more of the energy-emitting devices positioned at the distal section of the expandable-and collapsible cage structure for formation of a puncture hole through a biological wall.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

using at least one of the energy-emitting devices of the energy-emitting assembly for dilating a puncture hole formed through a biological wall.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

using the one or more of the energy-emitting devices positioned at the distal section of the expandable-and collapsible cage structure for selective emission of energy to form a puncture hole through the biological wall.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

using at least one of the energy-emitting devices of the energy-emitting assembly for selective emission of energy to dilate a puncture hole formed through a biological wall.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

an elongated medical sheath configured to be movable and positionable proximate to a biological feature of a patient; and

an expandable-and-collapsible cage configured to be selectively movable between a collapsed state within an interior of the elongated medical sheath and an expanded state at an exterior of the elongated medical sheath, the expandable-and collapsible cage having a distal section and a proximal section;

an elongated member extending from the expandable-and-collapsible cage; and

electrodes supported by the expandable-and-collapsible cage, at least one of the electrodes being positioned at the distal section of the expandable-and-collapsible cage and being configured to puncture the biological feature of a patient while the expandable-and-collapsible cage structure is in a collapsed state.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein at least one of the electrodes is positioned at the proximal section of the expandable-and-collapsible cage, and is configured to dilate the puncture.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the expandable-and-collapsible cage forms a tear drop shape in an expanded state.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the expandable-and-collapsible cage forms a tapered proximal section in an expanded state.

20. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein elbows or bends of the expandable-and-collapsible cage are formed of a metal softer than other portions of the expandable-and-collapsible cage.