Reentry catheter with expanding anchors

1. A reentry apparatus comprising:

an outer catheter defining a first lumen; and

an inner catheter locatable within said first lumen and defining a second lumen, wherein said inner catheter is configured for movement between a first position where a distal portion of said inner catheter is disposed within the outer catheter and a second position where said distal portion of the inner catheter is exposed, said inner catheter comprising:

a series of expandable anchors located along, and extending from an outer surface of, the distal portion of the inner catheter, wherein each of said expandable anchors are configured for movement into an expanded position when said inner catheter is placed in said second position and the expandable anchors are exposed to force deflection of said distal portion of said inner catheter into an angled position relative to an adjacent portion of said inner catheter;

a retaining wire extending along an upper surface of each of the expandable anchors; and

a reentry device; and

a reentry channel extending through said distal portion and configured to accommodate the reentry device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

each of the expandable anchors comprise a resiliently deformable material;

the expandable anchors are located at spaced intervals along an outer surface of the inner catheter;

each of the expandable anchors are attached to the retaining wire;

the retaining wire is configured to limit the expansion of, and maintain the spacing of, the expandable anchors.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein:

each of the expandable anchors are biased in the expanded position.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein:

each of the expandable anchors define an arch shape when in the expanded position.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising:

a handle assembly; and

a control member located at the handle assembly and configured to cause movement of the distal portion of the inner catheter between the first and second positions, wherein the expanding anchors are configured for movement between a compressed position when the inner catheter is in the first position such that the expandable anchors fit within the outer catheter, and the expanded position when the inner catheter is in the second position such that the expandable anchors expand to form an arch shape.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein:

the retaining wire extends from the control member along a length of the outer catheter such that expandable anchors are moveable between the first and second positions by pushing or pulling the retaining wire by way of the control member.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a first radiopaque marker located on a distal end of the outer catheter; and

a plurality of radiopaque markers located along a distal end of the inner catheter.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the reentry channel is located at a lower portion of the inner catheter;

the expandable anchors are located at an upper portion of the inner catheter; and

the upper portion opposes the lower portion.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein:

at least a distal end of the reentry channel is configured for deflection to an angle relative to a longitudinal axis of the inner catheter with deflection of said distal portion of said inner catheter.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a handle assembly comprising a first set of controls configured to control the movement of the inner catheter between said first position and said second position; and

a second set of controls located on the handle assembly and configured to control the movement of the reentry device.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

webbing located at each of the expandable anchors and extending between a respective one of the expandable anchors and the outer surface of the inner catheter.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a second distal portion of the inner catheter located adjacent to said distal portion, wherein said second distal portion is formed at a first, nonlinear angle relative to a remaining portion of the inner catheter.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

an additional reentry device, wherein said second lumen is configured to accommodate the additional reentry device.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein:

the reentry device comprises a first needle;

the additional reentry device comprises a second needle; and

the first and second reentry devices are each configured to accommodate a guidewire.

15. A reentry apparatus comprising:

an outer catheter defining a first lumen;

a first reentry device;

an inner catheter disposed within said outer catheter and defining an inner lumen configured to accommodate said first reentry device, said inner catheter comprising:

a series of expandable anchors provided along a distal portion of the inner catheter and configured for movement into an expanded position when exposed to form an arch and wherein each of said expandable anchors are configured to force said distal portion to deflect into an angled position when in said expanded position;

a retaining wire extending along an upper surface of each of the expandable anchors;

a second reentry device; and

a reentry channel extending through said distal portion and configured to accommodate the second reentry device;

a handle assembly; and

a control member located at the handle assembly and connected to the inner catheter for controlling movement of the inner catheter relative to the outer catheter so as to selectively expose the expandable anchors for movement between a retracted position and the expanded position.

16. A reentry method comprising the steps of:

providing a reentry apparatus comprising an outer catheter configured to accommodate an inner catheter comprising a series of expandable anchors located along, and extending from, an outer surface of a distal portion of the inner catheter, a retaining wire extending along an upper surface of the expandable anchors, and a reentry channel extending through the distal portion of the inner catheter and configured to accommodate the reentry device;

inserting a portion of the reentry apparatus into a blood vessel comprising an occlusion;

navigating the portion of the reentry apparatus to the occlusion;

extending the portion of the reentry apparatus into layers that form a wall of the blood vessel;

navigating the portion of the reentry apparatus beyond the occlusion;

moving the inner catheter relative to the outer catheter so as to expose the expandable anchors for expansion, thereby forcing said distal portion to deflect downward;

extending the reentry device into the blood vessel at an area beyond the occlusion.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

extending a second reentry device from an inner lumen of said inner catheter into the blood vessel at an area beyond the occlusion.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the steps of:

passing a guidewire through the second reentry device.