TISSUE-REMOVING CATHETER INCLUDING URGING MECHANISM

摘要

A tissue-removing catheter includes an elongate catheter body. The catheter body has a jogged portion that applies an urge force against a body lumen wall and urges a portion of the catheter body toward a portion of the body lumen wall. A tissue-removing element removes tissue from the body lumen during the cutting operation. The tissue-removing element is located generally adjacent the portion of the catheter body that is urged toward the body lumen wall by the jogged portion. An urging mechanism selectively applies a compressive load to the catheter body to adjust the bending stiffness of the jogged portion and the urge force applied by the jogged portion.