Atherectomy device with a removable drive system.

摘要

An intravascular catheter (10) comprises an elongated flexible jacket having opposed proximal and distal ends and a central passageway (18) extending between the ends. A working head (20) is located at the distal end, including a canalizing tip (24) and a bearing (22) for rotatably supporting the tip on the working head to remove occlusions from the lumen of a vessel. A drive cable (26) extends through the central passageway and has a driving portion (28) operatively located adjacent the distal end and a driven portion for releasably engaging the working head located opposite the driving portion. A power-driven motor is coupled to the driven end for rotating the cable. The jacket segments are disconnected and the canalizing tip removed with the drive cable from the catheter and replaced with a guide wire which is inserted through the central passageway.