Importance

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Abstract

A catheter imaging apparatus for internally viewing body vessels or cavities, having a catheter, the catheter comprising a housing of such a size as to be readily held in the hand of a user, an elongate tube with one end connected to the housing and extending outwardly therefrom and being formed of material having sufficient stiffness to maintain the elongate tube in a substantially straight condition in the absence of an external force applied thereto, the elongate tube having a flexible distal end portion, guide wires having inner ends connected to the housing and extending outwardly therefrom through the elongate tube means, distal ends of the guide wires being connected to the flexible distal end portion of the elongate tube means, and a guide wire control carried by the housing and cooperating with proximal inner end portions of the guide wires for controlling the angular attitude of the flexible distal end portion of the elongate tube means, the guide wires and guide wire control cooperating to limit the angular attitude of the flexible distal end portion of the elongate tube to angular adjustments in a common plane extending generally parallel to the upper surface of the housing, and an imaging source for forming an image of an internal body cavity or vessel into which the catheter is inserted, the imaging means being in optical communication with the flexible distal end portion of the elongate tube of the catheter.

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First Claim