Multiple segment catheter and method of fabrication
US6591472B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 8, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jul 15, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 8, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/49982
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Methods of fabricating medical vascular catheters adapted to be inserted into a blood vessel from an incision through the skin of a patient for introducing other devices or fluids for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and particularly methods for fabricating such catheters with catheter bodies having catheter sections of differing flexibility are disclosed. Such catheter bodies having a proximal catheter body end and a distal catheter body end and formed of a proximal section and at least one distal section that have differing flexibilities are formed in a process comprising the steps of: (1) forming a continuous tubular inner jacket preferably of an inner liner and a reinforcement layer; (2) forming initial layer segments having an initial layer thickness along the length of the inner jacket from a material of first durometer hardness, whereby each initial layer segment is separated by a separation distance: (3) forming a final layer of a material of second durometer hardness with a second layer thickness over the tubular inner jacket along the separation distances and over and/or against the proximal and distal initial layer ends of the initial layer segments to form a continuou…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.