referring now more particularly to the drawings shown in fig1 a - 7 , there are illustrated several embodiments of a device and system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention . as illustrated in fig1 a , one embodiment of the device 10 comprises a handle or handpiece 2 and a main body shaft 12 having a primary lumen 18 and a secondary lumen 14 ( fig2 a ). to begin the inventive method of intravascular access and communication , the practitioner selects an appropriate procedural site having each of a primary blood vessel 24 and a secondary blood vessel 26 ( fig1 ) in close proximity to one another . in currently preferred approaches , the primary blood vessel 24 comprises a vein , and the secondary blood vessel 26 comprises an artery , but the invention is not limited to this arrangement . the main body 12 is inserted into primary vessel 24 so that the distal end 32 thereof ( fig2 a ) lies within the blood flow passage of the primary vessel . preferably , this insertion step is performed using percutaneous technique , but open surgery may also be employed . with reference now to fig2 a , a piercing element 20 comprises a needle guide 34 , lumen 22 , and a distal tip 36 , and can be adjustably oriented axially within the secondary lumen 14 of a needle guide 16 . these elements are further adjustably oriented axially within lumen 18 of the needle guide 16 , and lumen 22 provides an externally communicating passage . a distal end 40 of the needle guide 16 comprises a blunt large diameter atraumatic tip , comprised of a polymer material , having a rounded distal edge . this distal tip 40 also has features that make it visible under different imaging techniques , such as ultrasound , fluoroscopy , ct , or mri . there is a coil 42 constructed of a radiopaque material , embedded in the polymer tip 40 . small particles of air or other radiopaque materials known to those skilled in the art may also be used to increase the radiopacity of the tip . referring to fig2 a and 3 a , the blunt tip 40 is manipulated to contact an inner wall of the primary vessel and to push it into desired engagement with the adjacent wall of the secondary vessel , as shown in fig3 a . the position of desired engagement is arranged to optimize the piercing step to be next described . the distal tip 36 of the piercing element 20 may be longitudinally extended with respect to the needle guide 34 , between a range of the radius of curvature along axis 35 of needle guide 34 , using a slide 8 on the handle 2 . a first , or retracted , position is illustrated in fig2 a , where the distal tip 36 is within the secondary lumen 14 of needle guide 16 . as will be described more fully below , the retracted orientation is utilized during the initial device insertion steps , as well as the device withdrawal steps , while variable extended orientations are the operative orientation for creating the communication passageway and guidewire placement . needle guide 34 of piercing element 20 is fabricated of a material that has shape memory properties that allow it to be held in an essentially axial position indefinitely by needle guide 16 , while in the orientation shown in fig2 a , and can achieve an incremental increase in the radius of curvature as distal tip 36 is extended beyond the end of needle guide 16 as shown in fig3 a . this variable orientation of the radius of curvature may be desirable by the practitioner to more effectively aim the distal tip 36 of the piercing element 20 in order to achieve a more desirable orientation for access from primary vessel 24 to secondary vessel 26 . in one version of this embodiment , the needle guide 34 is fabricated of a superelastic material , such as nitinol , to achieve this curvature effect . however , it should be noted that the needle guide 34 need not necessarily be made of a superelastic material for this embodiment to function . since the shape of the needle guide comes from the secondary lumen 14 , its shape is determined by moving the primary lumen 18 axially . referring again to fig3 a , once the main body 12 is inserted into primary vessel 24 and advanced to the desired site determined by the practitioner using ultrasound or fluoroscopic imaging , as previously described , it may be desired to adjust the radius of curvature of needle guide 34 to increase the angle of the axis of distal tip 36 by rotating knob 4 of handle 2 . since piercing distal tip 36 is configured to have echogenic and radiopaque properties to allow the practitioner to visualize the orientation of piercing tip 36 under real time imaging guidance , and the main body 12 of device 10 is incrementally rotatable about its axis , this will allow the practitioner to more effectively aim piercing tip 36 through direct visualization as secondary blood vessel 26 is “ nudged ” by the atraumatic tip of the needle guide 16 of the device 10 as the main body is incrementally rotated and the radius of curvature as desired , to allow more accurate penetration from primary blood vessel 24 to secondary blood vessel 26 . with reference now to fig4 a , once the practitioner has oriented piercing tip 36 as desired for optimal penetration , knob 4 of handle 2 is advanced to penetrate from primary blood vessel 24 through the primary vessel wall 44 to secondary blood vessel 26 through the secondary vessel wall 46 . this may be done under direct imaging guidance to verify complete penetration without extending beyond the flow passage of blood vessel 26 . the practitioner may also verify acceptable penetration through direct visualization of blood that flows through lumen 22 and exits aperture 4 of handle 2 as shown in fig1 . with reference now to fig5 a , once penetration from primary blood vessel 24 to secondary blood vessel 26 has been achieved , a guidewire 28 , preferably having a diameter of 0 . 014 ″ or less , is advanced through an aperture 6 of the handle 2 until the guidewire is positioned in the blood flow path of blood vessel 26 sufficiently to allow device 10 to be removed while retaining its position in blood vessel 26 . with reference now to fig6 , once guidewire 28 is sufficiently in position as previously described , the practitioner withdraws the device 10 completely from the body , thus leaving the guidewire in the desired position and crossing from primary vessel 24 to secondary vessel 26 . fig7 illustrates a detail view of the configuration of the piercing tip 36 utilized in both of the illustrated embodiments . the tip is configured to have a lancet point 48 to enhance the penetration from primary blood vessel 24 to secondary blood vessel 26 . a primary bevel 50 is ground at an angle between 12 and 20 degrees with a secondary angle between 5 - 20 degrees , with a rotation angle between 25 - 45 degrees . the needle grind is designed such that it pierces through the vessel wall and does not core , or cut a plug , through the vessel wall , to minimize bleeding between vessels when removed after the guidewire is placed into the secondary vessel . the outer diameter of the piercing member is also minimized to further reduce bleeding . the piercing member is oriented within the secondary lumen such that the tip of the lancet point is directed toward the adjacent secondary vessel . other piercing mechanisms , or needle point grind configurations , known to those skilled in the art may be provided . the embodiment of fig1 b , 2 b , 3 b , 4 b , and 5 b ( the “ b ” embodiment ) is similar in most respects to that of fig1 a , 2 a , 3 a , 4 a , and 5 a ( the “ a ” embodiment ), differing only in the details to be explained below . all common elements to those in the a embodiment are identified by common reference numerals in the figures illustrating the b embodiment , and the method sequencing shown in fig2 b , 3 b , 4 b , and 5 b is similar to that shown in fig2 a , 3 a , 4 a , and 5 a . fig6 and 7 are common to both embodiments . the major difference between the a and b embodiments is that in the b embodiment the primary lumen 14 has been eliminated . this is because , in this embodiment , the shape of the needle guide 34 is not adjustable . thus , it remains straight , and need not be fabricated of superelastic material . this arrangement is possible because the blunt tip 40 may be manipulated by the practitioner to ensure that the adjacent vessel walls of the primary and secondary vessel may be pierced by an axial advancement of the piercing member , as shown in fig3 b . as a result of this change , the knob 4 has also been eliminated , since control of the curvature of needle guide 34 is not required . accordingly , although an exemplary embodiment and method according to the invention have been shown and described , it is to be understood that all the terms used herein are descriptive rather than limiting , and that many changes , modifications , and substitutions may be made by one having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
a device for allowing passage of a guidewire from a primary blood vessel to an adjacent secondary blood vessel includes a main body having a primary lumen and a secondary lumen , and a piercing member disposed in the secondary lumen , and configured to be moved distally out of the secondary lumen , and to pierce through tissue while being distally moved . a third lumen located within the piercing member is configured to allow placement of a guidewire from the primary blood vessel to the adjacent secondary blood vessel . in one embodiment , the secondary lumen is configured to allow articulation of the distal end of the piercing element . the piercing member has a sharp point on one end to facilitate cutting a small communicating aperture from the primary blood vessel to the secondary blood vessel .