Debulking catheter

摘要

The present invention is an atherectomy catheter with a rotary cutting knife that is driven from the distal (nose) or side (circumference) direction. The catheter collects plaque shavings in a hollow collection chamber mounted in between the rotary cutting knife and the main catheter tubing. In contrast to prior art designs, which utilized nose mounted plaque collection chambers, the present design is able to store a substantially larger volume of removed plaque, thus increasing the length of time and amount of plaque removal that can be accomplished before the catheter must be removed from the body and cleaned. This decreases medical procedure time, allows for more complete and careful plaque removal, and reduces the burden on the patient and physician.

主权项

1. A catheter for removing tissue comprising:
an elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end; a drive shaft within the elongate body extending from adjacent the proximal end of the elongate body toward the distal end of the elongate body, the drive shaft being rotatable about a first rotational axis; a tissue cutting element configured to rotate relative to the elongate body about a second rotational axis; and a transmission mechanism indirectly coupling the drive shaft to the tissue cutting element, the transmission mechanism configured to transfer torque from the drive shaft to the tissue cutting element to impart rotation of the tissue cutting element about the second rotational axis, wherein the elongate body includes a material collection chamber disposed proximally of the tissue cutting element.