Method of making a catheter balloon by laser fusing wrapped material
US6929768B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 13, 2002 |
| Grant date | Aug 16, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 10, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T428/1334
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method of making a catheter balloon or other expandable medical device, and a balloon or other device formed thereby, in which at least a portion of a tubular, wrapped sheet of polymeric material is heated with laser radiation to form a fused seam extending along at least a section of the length of the tubular body. In one embodiment, the portion of the sheet heated by laser radiation is less than the entire area of the sheet, so that the fused seam is formed by heating portions of the sheet without heating sections of the sheet spaced apart from the fused seam. In one embodiment, the sheet of polymeric material comprises a polymer having a porous and preferably a node and fibril microstructure, which in one embodiment is selected from the group consisting of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) and expanded ultra high molecular weight polyethylene.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.