| abstract |
A catheter includes a steering mechanism for manipulating the distal end of the catheter to obtain a plurality of deflection profiles. The steering mechanism comprises two steering tendons. The first steering tendon is attached to the distal-end region and the second steering tendon is attached to the distal-end region at a location proximal the attachment point of the first steering tendon. The steering tendons may be located approximately angularly aligned, thus causing the deflection profiles to be unidirectional. Alternatively, the steering tendons may be angularly separated from each other, thus causing the deflection profiles to be bidirectional. The steering tendons are attached so that moving the first steering tendon in a proximal direction causes the distal-end region to deflect in a tight loop, whereas moving the second steering tendon in a proximal direction causes the distal-end region to deflect in a U-shape. |