| abstract |
A medical device for creating images of tissue within a body includes a disposable liquid-confining sheath supporting an elongate flexible drive shaft which carries an imaging device such as a ultrasound transducer. The device may include a trocar adapted to receive the sheath, the trocar permitting the device to be inserted into the body where no natural passageway exists, the trocar having a side-facing region adapted to maintain registry with the imaging device while the imaging device rotates. In another embodiment, the drive shaft includes an outer coil that is configured such that when the drive shaft is driven in the direction tending to decrease the diameter of the outer coil, the outer surface of the outer coil pressurizes liquid distally of the outer surface. The device optionally includes an inflatable balloon. |