Catheter shaft having variable thickness layers and method of making
First Claim
1. An intraluminal catheter, comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, at least one lumen, a first layer, a second layer, and having a) a first longitudinal section with the first layer having a tapered surface, and the second layer having an inversely tapered surface;
- and b) a second longitudinal section with a tapered outer diameter, at least one of the first or second layers having a tapered inner surface and a tapered outer surface in the second longitudinal section, and at least one of the first or second layers having a substantially constant wall thickness in the second longitudinal section.
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Abstract
A catheter having a shaft with at least two variable layers, in which the relative proportions of the two layers changes along at least a part of the multilayered shaft section. The catheter shaft includes a cotapered transition section having a first layer tapering to a decreased thickness, and a second layer inversely tapering to an increased thickness. In one embodiment, the shaft has one or more tapered outer and/or inner surfaces in addition to the cotapered transition. The tapered outer or inner surface of the shaft is typically longitudinally displaced from the cotapered transition section. In a presently preferred embodiment, the shaft having a cotapered transition section is coextruded. Another aspect of the invention includes a method of making a shaft having a cotapered transition section. The shaft of the invention provides improved transitions between shaft sections, to thereby change characteristics such as the shaft stiffness along the length of the catheter.
102 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An intraluminal catheter, comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, at least one lumen, a first layer, a second layer, and having
a) a first longitudinal section with the first layer having a tapered surface, and the second layer having an inversely tapered surface; - and
b) a second longitudinal section with a tapered outer diameter, at least one of the first or second layers having a tapered inner surface and a tapered outer surface in the second longitudinal section, and at least one of the first or second layers having a substantially constant wall thickness in the second longitudinal section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An intraluminal catheter, comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, at least one lumen a first layer, a second layer, and having
a) a proximal longitudinal section with the first layer having a tapered surface, and the second layer having an inversely tapered surface, the first layer being an inner layer relative to the second layer; - and
b) a distal longitudinal section with a tapered outer diameter, the first layer having a substantially constant wall thickness from at least a portion of the distal longitudinal section to the distal end of the shaft. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. An intraluminal catheter, comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, at least one lumen, a first layer, a second layer, and having
a) a first longitudinal section with the first layer having a tapered surface, and the second layer having an inversely tapered surface; - and
b) a second longitudinal section distal to and directly adjacent to the first longitudinal section, with a tapered outer diameter, the first layer having an outer surface tapering distally to a smaller outer diameter in the second longitudinal section and the second layer having an outer surface tapering distally to a smaller outer diameter in the second longitudinal section. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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- 23. An intraluminal catheter, comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, at least one lumen, and having at least a section having cotapered first and second layers, so that the first layer has a tapered surface and the second layer has an inversely tapered surface, the first layer being formed of a polymer having a melt flow index of about 10 to about 20 grams/minute, and the second layer being formed of a polymer having a melt flow index of about 10 to about 20 grams/minute.
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25. A method of making an elongated catheter shaft having at least a first and second layer, and a co-tapered section in which the first layer tapers to a smaller wall thickness and the second layer tapers inversely to the taper of the first layer, comprising
a) extruding the first layer from an extruder having a first gear pump at an output end thereof and co-extruding the second layer with the first layer from a second extruder having a second gear pump at an output end thereof, and forming the co-tapered section of the shaft by reversing the rotation of the first gear pump to at least in part form the taper in the first layer; - and
b) increasing the speed of the second gear pump from a first speed to a second speed to form the inverse taper in the second layer. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of making an elongated catheter shaft having at east a first and second layer, and a section in which the first layer tapers distally to a smaller wall thickness, comprising extruding the first layer from an extruder having a first gear pump at an output end thereof and co-extruding the second layer with the first layer from a second extruder, and forming the section of the shaft by reversing the rotation of the first gear pump to at least in part form the taper in the first layer.
Specification