Flexible catheter
US6500147B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 22, 1999 |
| Grant date | Dec 31, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 22, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61M2025/1093
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A balloon catheter having improved flexibility in and about its distal end is provided. The flexibility of the catheter is determined in part by improving the properties of a wire or catheter located within the area where the balloon is mounted. In one aspect of the present invention, connecting wires extend through the balloon from the distal end of a catheter body to the proximal end of a core wire. The core wire extends distally away from the connecting wires and the catheter body. In another aspect of the present invention, a core wire is provided having a proximal end extending within the balloon into the catheter tubular body but is not mounted therein. This allows the proximal end of the core wire to “float” within the tubular body, such that when the catheter is advanced through the vasculature of a patient, the core wire may move longitudinally within the tubular body. In another aspect of the present invention, the balloon is mounted over a tubular body which is configured to give the catheter longitudinal flexibility.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.