Claims
- 1. A catheter, comprising:
an elongate tube having a proximal end and a distal end; an anchor disposed generally at the distal end of the tube and being moveable from an insertion position to a withdrawal position; and the anchor in the insertion position having a low profile when the tube is moved distally; and the anchor in the withdrawal position having a low profile when the tube is moved proximally.
- 2. The catheter recited in claim 1, wherein:
the anchor in the insertion position having a high profile when the tube is moved proximally.
- 3. The catheter recited in claim 2, further comprising:
a distal tip of the catheter being movable relative to the tube to permit the anchor to move from the insertion position to the withdrawal position.
- 4. The catheter recited in claim 3, further comprising:
a tension element holding the distal tip of the anchor in a proximate relationship with the tube in the insertion position.
- 5. The catheter recited in claim 4, wherein the tension element has properties facilitating separation of the tension element to enable a space relationship between the tube and the distal tip in the withdrawal position.
- 6. A catheter, comprising:
an elongate tube having a proximal end and a distal end; an anchor disposed of the distal end of the tube, the anchor having a first end and a second end; means for attaching the first end of the anchor to the tube; a tension member extending distally of the tube for releasably holding the second end of the anchor in a fixed relationship with the tube
- 7. The catheter recited in claim 6, wherein:
the anchor has the insertion state and a withdrawal state; the first end of the anchor has a floating relationship with the tube in the insertion state; and the second end of the anchor has a floating relationship with the tube in the withdrawal state.
- 8. The catheter recited in claim 6, wherein:
the anchor has a high-profile state when the first end of the anchor has a proximate relationship with the second end of the anchor; and the anchor has a low-profile state when the first end of the anchor has a spaced relationship with the second end of the anchor.
- 9. The catheter recited in claim 6, further comprising a stop included in the attaching means and having a fixed relationship with the tube.
- 10. The catheter recited in claim 6, wherein the attaching means comprises a tension member.
- 11. The catheter recited in claim 10, wherein the tension member extends between the first end of the anchor in a position in proximity to the proximal end of the tube.
- 12. The catheter recited in claim 11, wherein the tension member is severable to release the second end of the anchor from the fixed relationship with the tube.
- 13. A method for withdrawing a catheter anchored through a body conduit in a body cavity, comprising the steps of:
providing the catheter with an elongate tube having an anchor at a distal end of the tube, the anchor having a distal tip held in proximity to the distal end of the tube by a tension element extending away from the distal end of the tube; and severing the tension element to release the distal tip of the anchor from the tube.
- 14. The method recited in claim 13, wherein the tube has a proximal end and the severing step further comprises the step of:
cutting the tension element in proximity to the proximal end of the tube.
- 15. The method recited in claim 13, further comprising the step of:
attaching the anchor to the tube at other than the distal tip of the anchor.
- 16. The method recited in claim 13, further comprising the step of:
withdrawing the tube and the anchor from the body cavity and through the body conduit in a low-profile state
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application relates to and claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/212,912 entitled SELF-DEPLOYABLE DRAINAGE CATHETER filed on Jun. 20, 2000, and U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/260,794 entitled ANCHORING ASSEMBLY FOR MEDICAL INSTRUMENT filed on Jan. 9, 2001, and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/870,255 filed on May 30, 2001 entitled SELF DEPLOYING CATHETER ASSEMBLY, each of which is incorporated herein by reference
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60212912 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
|
60260794 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09870255 |
May 2001 |
US |
Child |
10403758 |
Mar 2003 |
US |