Appeal 2007-0845
Application 10/268,135
endoscope (Specification 1). “[T]he duct itself must be navigated using a
catheter” (id.).
Once the endoscope reveals an area requiring treatment, “a different
catheter is typically required, necessitating a catheter exchange. A catheter
exchange typically involves removing the first catheter from the endoscope,
over the guide wire, and advancing a second catheter over the guide wire to
the desired treatment site” (id.). In addition, guide wires may need to be
exchanged, “for example, when a first guide wire is too large to fit through a
desired body duct, or otherwise lacks the characteristics desired for a
particular application” (id. at 2).
“To maintain the position of the guide wire and/or catheter, a
physician typically must grasp the proximal end of the guide wire and/or
catheter with one hand and perform the corresponding exchange with the
other. This is difficult, and often results in movement of the guide wire
and/or catheter” (id.). “If the guide wire moves during such a procedure, the
guide wire may need to be re-directed through the body ducts to the target
site, which is often a difficult and time consuming task” (id. at 1).
The Specification discloses a rapid exchange catheter having a guide
wire lumen with a channel that opens to the outside of the catheter (id.). The
catheter has a guide wire ramp that extends into the guide wire lumen
channel (id. at 2-3). In application, the guide wire ramp deflects the guide
wire out of the catheter, allowing the physician to “at all times maintain his
grasp on an exposed portion of the guide wire 36 to maintain it in position
without the need for guide wire extenders” (id. at 8).
2
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