Agent delivery catheter having radially expandable centering support member

Abstract

A catheter for delivering an agent to an injection site in a wall of a patient's body lumen, with an elongated shaft having a needle-through lumen slidably containing a needle therein, and an expandable member on the distal shaft section which has a collapsed configuration and a radially expanded configuration. In the radially expanded configuration, the expandable member supports the shaft in a position spaced away from the body lumen wall, and the needle slidably exits the needle-through lumen in the extended configuration through the port spaced away from the body lumen wall as a portion of the expandable member maintains the position of the port section of the shaft in the body lumen. The expandable member typically has an open-walled, helical, or lobed configuration providing a perfusion path along the expandable member.

1 - 38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . An agent delivery catheter configured for delivering an agent to an injection site in a wall of a patient's body lumen, comprising:
 a) a needle sheath tubular member having a needle-through lumen and a needle-through port in a side thereof;   b) a needle slidably disposed in the needle-through lumen having a retracted configuration and an extended configuration in which the needle extends laterally from the needle sheath tubular member through the needle-through port; and   c) an expandable member on a shaft, the expandable member having a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration in which a portion is in direct contact with the body lumen while allowing perfusion of fluid within the body lumen past the expandable member, the needle sheath tubular member and expandable member being movable in a longitudinal direction relative to each other.   
     
     
         40 . The catheter of  claim 39  wherein the shaft includes a lumen for slidably receiving the needle sheath tubular member therein. 
     
     
         41 . The catheter of  claim 39  wherein the expandable member has an open-walled, helical, or lobed configuration providing a perfusion path along the expandable member. 
     
     
         42 . The catheter of  claim 39  wherein the expandable member is a helically extending balloon and the needle-through port of the needle sheath tubular member is located between helical turns of the balloon. 
     
     
         43 . The catheter of  claim 42  wherein the needle sheath tubular member is movable to selectively position the needle-through port between the helical turns of the balloon. 
     
     
         44 . The catheter of  claim 39  wherein the expandable member is a tube with an internal lumen which is biased to the expanded configuration, and the catheter further includes a straightening element which is movable into the expandable member to move the expandable member into the collapsed configuration. 
     
     
         45 . The catheter of  claim 44  wherein the straightening element is a guide wire. 
     
     
         46 . The catheter of  claim 44  wherein the expandable member has a distal opening through which the straightening element extends through. 
     
     
         47 . The catheter of  claim 39  wherein the expandable member is a tube with an internal lumen which is fillable with a fluid to move the expandable member from its collapsed configuration into its expanded configuration. 
     
     
         48 . An agent delivery catheter configured for delivering an agent to an injection site in a wall of a patient's body lumen, comprising:
 a) a needle sheath tubular member having a needle-through lumen and a needle-through port in a side thereof;   b) a needle slidably disposed in the needle-through lumen having a retracted configuration and an extended configuration in which the needle extends laterally from the needle sheath tubular member through the needle-through port;   c) an elongated shaft having a lumen formed therein for receiving the needle sheath tubular member; and   d) an expandable member associated with the elongated shaft, the expandable member having a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration in which a portion is in direct contact with the body lumen while allowing perfusion of fluid within the body lumen past the expandable member, wherein expandable member center the needle-through port in the body lumen when the expandable member is in the expanded configuration and the needle sheath tubular member is slidable longitudinally within the lumen of the elongated shaft to position the needle-through port relative to the expandable member.   
     
     
         49 . The catheter of  claim 48  wherein the expandable member has an open-walled, helical, or lobed configuration providing a perfusion path along the expandable member. 
     
     
         50 . The catheter of  claim 48  wherein the expandable member is a helically extending balloon and the needle-through port of the needle sheath tubular member is located between helical turns of the balloon. 
     
     
         51 . The catheter of  claim 50  wherein the needle sheath tubular member is movable to selectively position the needle-through port between the helical turns of the balloon. 
     
     
         52 . The catheter of  claim 48  wherein the expandable member is a tube with an internal lumen which is biased to the expanded configuration, and the catheter further includes a straightening element which is movable into the expandable member to move the expandable member into the collapsed configuration. 
     
     
         53 . The catheter of  claim 52  wherein the straightening element is a guide wire. 
     
     
         54 . The catheter of  claim 52  wherein the expandable member has a distal opening through which the straightening element extends through. 
     
     
         55 . The catheter of  claim 48  wherein the expandable member is a tube with an internal lumen which is fillable with a fluid to move the expandable member from its collapsed configuration into its expanded configuration. 
     
     
         56 . The catheter of  claim 48  wherein the expandable member has a distal end which extends beyond the needle sheath tubular member when the expandable member is in the collapsed configuration and the collapsed configuration assumes a substantially linear configuration allowing the distal end of the expandable member to be steered into the target location in the body lumen.