ATHERECTOMY CATHETER WITH SHAPEABLE DISTAL TIP
An atherectomy catheter for use in a vessel includes a catheter and a rotatable cutter. The rotatable cutter can be translatable within the catheter to extend the cutter through a window of the catheter or retracted the cutter within the catheter. The catheter can have a fixed bend and/or have a shapeable portion configured to facilitate positioning and movement of the cutter. The shapeable portion may take on a pre-defined shape. The shapeable portion may be positioned against an inner wall of a blood vessel to provide leverage for the rotatable cutter. In some cases, a rotation limiter may limit the number of rotations that the catheter can rotate with respect to a guidewire to prevent twisting of the guidewire.
1 . An atherectomy device comprising:
a catheter including a distal nosecone coupled to an elongate body, the catheter including a cutter window between the nosecone and the elongate body, wherein the elongate body includes a shapeable section including a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion each configured to bend upon activation; and
a driveshaft configured to rotate and translate within the catheter, the driveshaft including a distal cutter configured to extend through the cutting window, wherein a force applied to the driveshaft in a proximal direction causes the shapeable section to take on a U-shape defined by a first curve of the first portion, a second curve of the second portion, and a third curve of the third portion.
2 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the nosecone is fixedly coupled to the elongate body at a fixed bend of the catheter.
3 . The atherectomy device of claim 2 , wherein the cutter window is on a convex side of the fixed bend.
4 . The atherectomy device of claim 2 , wherein the cutter window is distally located along the catheter with respect to the fixed bend.
5 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein an extent of curvature of the shapeable section is adjustable based on an amount of force applied to the rotatable driveshaft in the proximal direction.
6 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the cutter is configured to tilt in a first direction and extend though the cutter window upon proximal movement of the driveshaft with respect to the catheter.
7 . The atherectomy device of claim 6 , wherein the cutter is configured to tilt in a second direction opposite the first direction and retract within the cutter window upon distal movement of the driveshaft with respect to the catheter.
8 . The atherectomy device of claim 7 , wherein the cutter is configured to extend distally within the nosecone upon further distal movement of the driveshaft with respect to the catheter.
9 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the shapeable section is configured to revert back to a straight configuration upon distal movement of the driveshaft.
10 . The atherectomy device of claim 9 , wherein the shapeable section includes a frame configured to limit an extent to which the shapeable section bends.
11 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the shapeable section includes a first axial portion, a second axial portion, and a third axial portion, wherein the first and third axial portions are configured to bend in a first direction, wherein the second axial portion is configured to bend in a second direction opposite the first direction.
12 . The atherectomy device of claim 11 , wherein each of the first, second and third axial portions includes a longitudinal backbone, wherein activation of the shapeable section causes each of the first, second and third axial portions to bend away from its corresponding backbone.
13 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the shapeable section includes a tubular frame having a plurality of slits, wherein activation of the shapeable section causes compression of the tubular frame such that spaces between the plurality of slits become closer together.
14 . The atherectomy device of claim 13 , wherein the slits are slanted with respect to a transverse axis of the tubular frame.
15 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the shapeable section includes a tubular frame having bend control features configured to limit an extent to which the shapeable section bends.
16 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the first, second and third curves are arranged along a plane.
17 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the shapeable section includes portions that are configured to bend in at least two different lateral directions.
18 . The atherectomy device of claim 1 , wherein the cutter includes an imaging sensor configured to collect images outside of the catheter while the cutter rotates.
19 . A method of using an atherectomy device, the atherectomy device including a cutter coupled to a rotatable driveshaft within a catheter, the catheter having a distal nosecone coupled to an elongate body and a cutter window between the distal nosecone and the elongate body, the method comprising:
applying an axial force in a proximal direction on the driveshaft within the catheter to cause a shapeable section of the elongate body to form a U-shape defined by a first curve, a second curve and a third curve.
20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising moving the driveshaft in a proximal direction to cause the cutter to tilt in a first direction and extend through the cutter window.
21 - 105 . (canceled)