A control handle for a steerable catheter body for navigation of the catheter body through a biological lumen and manipulation at a treatment site. The control handle includes a housing assembly that houses a piston assembly and a resistance adjusting assembly. The resistance adjusting assembly can be adjusted to provide the desired frictional characteristics of the user for control of the resistance between the piston assembly and the housing assembly. In one embodiment, the piston assembly is configured to provide a frictional resistance that varies dynamically to substantially match the restorative force across the range of catheter tip deflection. Other embodiments include a vibrating member that provides tactile feedback to the operator to indicate conditions at the distal end of the catheter, such as contact force.

Balloon catheters that includes inner and outer elongate shafts, each of which is secured relative to an end of an inflatable member. The inner and outer elongate shafts are secured relative to one another at one more discrete connection locations. The balloon bonding locations are disposed radially inward relative to an outer dimension of the outer elongate shaft.

The proposed device comprises a plurality of electroactive material actuator units arranged as a set. Control data for driving individual units is transferred over three shared power lines. The electroactive material actuator of each unit is driven depending on control data received from the power lines via a demodulator, a controller, and a driver.

The disclosure provides for a variable stiffness catheter. The catheter may include an inner layer forming an inner lumen, a middle layer surrounding the inner layer, and an outer layer surrounding the middle layer. The middle layer may include an annular lumen and a plurality of strings within the annular lumen, and the plurality of strings may be connected to the inner layer. Applying a vacuum and evacuating the annular lumen of the middle layer alters a frictional force between the inner layer and the outer layer and thereby changes the catheter's flexural rigidity.

A system comprises an instrument having a bendable portion with first and control elements extending in the bendable portion and a control system operably coupled to an actuator and a sensor. The control system operates to, while the bendable portion is in a neutral position, command the actuator to move the first control element a first amount until slack is removed from the first control element and command the actuator to move the second control element a second amount until slack is removed from the second control element. The control system also receives a first control element calibration position after moving the first control element the first amount and receives a second control element calibration position after moving the second control element the second amount. The control system also commands the actuator to bend the bendable portion from the neutral position and determine a resulting shape of the bendable portion.

User interface devices, systems, and methods can be used for selectively bending of, altering the bend characteristics of, and/or altering the lengths of catheter bodies, guidewires, steerable trocars, and other flexible structures inserted into a patient during use. Optionally, a housing is coupled to a proximal end of a catheter, and movement of the housing by a hand of a system user is sensed and used as a movement command for articulation of the catheter. Alternatively, a sensor can be coupled to an elongate flexible body flexing outside of the patient so as to alter bending of a catheter within the patient. Movements generated through a combination of manual manipulation and powered articulations are facilitated.

An actuator is provided with a tubular actuator element and a supporting body which supports an inner peripheral surface of the actuator element. An internal pressure of the actuator element is higher than an external pressure of the actuator element.

A catheter having a tube having at least one lumen, at least one elongate element, the at least one elongate element having a bendable portion at a predetermined bendable portion location therealong forward of a distal end of the tube, and at least one selectably inflatable balloon communicating with at least one of the at least one lumen, the at least one selectably inflatable balloon having a forward end and a rearward end, the rearward end of the balloon being located rearwardly of the predetermined bendable portion location.

A growable continuum instrument includes a growable tube and one or more serially connected continuum structures. The growable tube includes an inner layer, an outer layer, and a fluid chamber between the inner and outer layers. The growable tube includes a turnable region where the inner and outer layers are connected and turnable. The continuum structure is located in the growable tube. The continuum structure includes a plurality of spacer discs and a plurality of connecting structures. The connecting structure includes one or more flexible structural bones, the two ends of which are respectively fixedly connected with the adjacent spacer discs, and are distributed along the circumferential direction of the spacer discs. The plurality of connecting structures include at least a first and second connecting structures, and the flexible structural bones of the first and second connecting structures are distributed differently along the circumferential direction of the spacer disc.

The disclosed invention provides a handle for controlling movements of a transseptal insertion shaft which is suitable for facilitating precise and safe transseptal puncture of a cardiac interatrial septum, and a transseptal puncture system that include a transseptal insertion shaft and a handle to control movements of the transseptal insertion shaft. The handle includes two twister thread half shells, a nut inner and nut outer placed inside the two twister thread half shells, a first pull wire connected to a first side of the transseptal insertion shaft and coupled to the nut inner, a second pull wire connected to a second side of the transseptal insertion shaft and coupled to the nut outer. The nut inner and nut outer rotate in opposite directions to each other when the two twister thread half shells are turned in a direction.