Steerable catheter with in-plane deflection

摘要

An improved steerable catheter (10) with in-plane deflection comprises a catheter body (12) and a lumen (18) extending therethrough and a tip section (14) at the distal end of the catheter body. The tip section comprises a flexible plastic tubing having a pair of diametrically-opposed lumens (23,25) extending therethrough. The catheter also provides two puller wires (32) manipulated through a control handle (16). Each puller wire extends through one of the pair of lumens in the tip section and through the lumen of the catheter body and is anchored to the control handle and to the tip section. The deflection mechanism (17) is configured to generally define a plane along which deflection most readily occurs and an edge along which deflection is most readily avoided. The deflection mechanism extends longitudinally along a centerline of the tip section between the first and second puller wire.