Appeal 2007-0845
Application 10/268,135
DISCUSSION
1. CLAIMS
Claims 1-6, 8-12, and 20 are on appeal. Claims 13-19 are also
pending but have been withdrawn from consideration by the Examiner.
Claim 1 is representative and reads as follows:
1. A rapid exchange catheter comprising:
a guide wire lumen extending through the catheter, a
channel portion of the guide wire lumen including a channel
opening the channel portion to an outside thereof, wherein a
width of the channel is less than a maximum width of the
channel portion; and
a guide wire ramp formed of a portion of a wall of the
catheter separated from an adjacent portion of the catheter wall
by a slit extending proximally from an edge of the channel to
create a substantially angled tip at a point at which the slit
meets the channel and wherein the angled tip extends into the
channel to permit a guide wire to pass therethrough in a first
direction and to force out of the channel a guide wire traveling
through the channel portion in a second direction opposite the
first direction.
Thus, claim 1 is directed to a catheter having a guide wire lumen
extending through it. The guide wire lumen includes a channel that has an
opening to the outside of the catheter.
The catheter also has a guide wire ramp formed from a portion of a
wall of the catheter. The ramp is formed by a slit extending proximally from
an edge of the channel. The slit creates a substantially angled tip where the
slit meets the channel. The angled tip extends into the channel in a manner
that permits a guide wire to pass into the channel through the ramp when
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