Catheter for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic procedures
First Claim
1. A catheter assembly for introducing fluid into a vessel, the catheter assembly comprising:
- (a) a shaft;
(b) a hub affixed to a proximal end of said shaft;
(c) a stem affixed to a distal end of said shaft, said stem having a porous section approximate a distal end thereof, said porous section defining a plurality of microholes generally distributed uniformly thereabout and inclined by a predetermined angle in a proximal direction; and
(d) a tip affixed to said distal end of said stem, said tip including a conically-shaped valve with an apex thereof defining an opening and pointing in the proximal direction;
such that, as the fluid flows within said catheter assembly and pressure increases within said tip, said conically-shaped valve dynamically changing and thus generally decreasing a size of said opening so that the amount of the fluid flowing out of (A) said opening of said tip decreases and (B) said microholes of said stem increases, with the forces of the fluid flowing out of said microholes and said opening substantially balancing thereby enabling a position of said tip and said stem within the vessel to remain stable while fluid is finely dispersed therefrom.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A catheter for use in introducing fluid into a vessel or other bodily structure. The catheter comprises a stem and a restrictor. The stem has approximate a distal end thereof a porous section that defines microholes distributed thereabout, which are inclined by a predetermined angle in the proximal direction. Affixed to the stem, the restrictor includes a conically-shaped valve with an apex thereof defining an opening and pointing in the proximal direction. The opening generally decreases in size as the conically-shaped valve flattens out distally as the pressure of the fluid within the tip increases. The forces of the fluid flowing out of the opening of the restrictor and out of the microholes of the stem substantially balance thereby substantially eliminating both recoil and whipping of the catheter, thus enabling its position to remain exceptionally stable while the fluid is finely dispersed therefrom in a cloud-like form.
168 Citations
121 Claims
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1. A catheter assembly for introducing fluid into a vessel, the catheter assembly comprising:
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(a) a shaft;
(b) a hub affixed to a proximal end of said shaft;
(c) a stem affixed to a distal end of said shaft, said stem having a porous section approximate a distal end thereof, said porous section defining a plurality of microholes generally distributed uniformly thereabout and inclined by a predetermined angle in a proximal direction; and
(d) a tip affixed to said distal end of said stem, said tip including a conically-shaped valve with an apex thereof defining an opening and pointing in the proximal direction;
such that, as the fluid flows within said catheter assembly and pressure increases within said tip, said conically-shaped valve dynamically changing and thus generally decreasing a size of said opening so that the amount of the fluid flowing out of (A) said opening of said tip decreases and (B) said microholes of said stem increases, with the forces of the fluid flowing out of said microholes and said opening substantially balancing thereby enabling a position of said tip and said stem within the vessel to remain stable while fluid is finely dispersed therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A catheter assembly for introducing fluid into a vessel, the catheter assembly comprising:
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(a) a stem having approximate a distal end thereof a porous section defining a plurality of microholes distributed thereabout and inclined by a predetermined angle in a proximal direction; and
(b) a tip affixed to said distal end of said stem, said tip including a conically-shaped valve with an apex thereof pointing in the proximal direction and defining an opening whose size generally decreases as said conically-shaped valve dynamically changes as pressure of the fluid within said tip increases;
wherein the forces of the fluid flowing from within said catheter assembly out of said opening of said tip and out of said microholes of said stem substantially balance thereby substantially eliminating both recoil and whipping of said catheter assembly thus enabling a position thereof within the vessel to remain stable while the fluid is finely dispersed therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A catheter assembly for introducing fluid into a vessel, the catheter assembly comprising a restrictor at a distal end thereof, said restrictor including a conically-shaped valve comprising:
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(a) a circular base portion formed approximate a distal end of said restrictor; and
(b) a conical wall portion extending in a proximal direction from said circular base portion to an apex thereof, said apex defining an opening whose size generally decreases as said conically-shaped valve flattens out distally as pressure of the fluid within said restrictor increases. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
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70. A catheter assembly for introducing fluid into a vessel, said catheter assembly comprising:
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(a) a stem having approximate a distal end thereof a porous section defining a plurality of microholes distributed thereabout and inclined by a predetermined angle in a proximal direction; and
(a) a restrictor affixed to said distal end of said stem, said restrictor defining an opening therein whose size generally decreases as pressure of the fluid within said restrictor increases;
wherein the forces of the fluid flowing from within said catheter assembly out of said opening of said restrictor and out of said microholes of said stem substantially balance to prevent axial and radial movement of said catheter assembly thus enabling a position thereof within the vessel to remain stable while the fluid is finely dispersed therefrom in a cloud-like form. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
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78. A catheter comprising a distal segment having:
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(a) a porous section; and
(b) a restrictor contiguous with said porous section, said restrictor defining an opening therein whose size generally decreases as pressure of fluid within said restrictor increases. - View Dependent Claims (79, 80, 81, 82)
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83. A catheter comprising a restrictor approximate a distal end thereof, said restrictor defining an opening therein whose size generally decreases as pressure of fluid within said restrictor increases.
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84. A catheter comprising:
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(a) a shaft; and
(b) a stem affixed to a distal end of said shaft, said stem having a porous section defining a plurality of microholes. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117)
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118. An injector system comprising:
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(a) an injector for injecting a fluid into a patient; and
(b) a catheter operably associated with said injector for introducing the fluid into a bodily structure, said catheter comprising;
(I) a porous section; and
(II) a restrictor contiguous with said porous section, said restrictor defining an opening therein whose size generally decreases as pressure of fluid within said restrictor increases. - View Dependent Claims (119, 120, 121)
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Specification