Importance

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Abstract

Surgical basket instruments according to the invention generally include a sheath (catheter), a shaft extending through and axially movable relative to the sheath, a basket assembly coupled to a distal end of the shaft, and a handle coupled to a proximal end of the shaft and adapted for facilitating movement of the shaft relative to the sheath such that the basket assembly may be moved out of and into the distal end of the sheath. The basket assembly is formed from a plurality of circumferentially spaced flexible wires or cables which facilitate entrapping of urological and gastrointestinal calculi. The shaft is made of a hollow compacted cable formed from a flexible yet strong shape memory material such as a nickel-titanium alloy. The hollow (channel) in the shaft receives at least one fiber optic couplable to a laser beam for destroying calculi. The fiber optic may be stationary or axially movable relative to the shaft, and may extend to the proximal end of the basket assembly or beyond the distal tip of the instrument so as to act as a sphinctertome. In one embodiment, additional fiber optics which extend through the channel, and a fluid source coupled to the channel permit the basket instrument to have the additional functionality of an endoscope.

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First Claim