EXPANDABLE AND COLLAPSIBLE MEDICAL DEVICE
First Claim
1. A catheter with a collapsed diameter sufficient to allow placement of the catheter over a guidewire and into a body of a patient and being expandable in diameter after placement in the body of the patient to support fluid flow at a predetermined rate higher than a rate possible with the collapsed diameter, the catheter comprising:
- an elongated member including a tubular wall defining at least one lumen extending therethrough, the elongated member comprising a shape memory polymer which allows at least a portion of the elongated member to expand its diameter beyond its collapsed diameter when exposed to at least one triggering stimulus, at least one section of the elongated member comprising a plurality of holes in the tubular wall to make that section more flexible and bendable than other parts of the elongated member without such holes.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A catheter (or cannula) is small enough in diameter to be placed minimally invasively into the body of a patient but also can be expanded post-placement to provide a larger-diameter placed catheter that supports fluid flow at a rate higher than is possible through the pre-placement reduced-diameter catheter. The expandable catheter is constructed using one or more shape memory polymers and can include one or more stent-like sections and/or at least part of the cannula formed as folded lobes. Each of the stent-like sections is configured to enhance the flexibility of the section as compared to the other parts of the catheter and thus allow the section to accommodate tight bends and turns when inserted into the body of the patient. The folded lobes are axial folds that constitute at least one section of the cannula, and they unfold upon expansion of the catheter to create a large cross-sectional shape.
54 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A catheter with a collapsed diameter sufficient to allow placement of the catheter over a guidewire and into a body of a patient and being expandable in diameter after placement in the body of the patient to support fluid flow at a predetermined rate higher than a rate possible with the collapsed diameter, the catheter comprising:
an elongated member including a tubular wall defining at least one lumen extending therethrough, the elongated member comprising a shape memory polymer which allows at least a portion of the elongated member to expand its diameter beyond its collapsed diameter when exposed to at least one triggering stimulus, at least one section of the elongated member comprising a plurality of holes in the tubular wall to make that section more flexible and bendable than other parts of the elongated member without such holes.
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2. A medical device for insertion into a blood vessel of a patient and for carrying one or more fluids into and/or out of the patient'"'"'s body, the medical device comprising:
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a hub for placement outside the patient'"'"'s body; and an elongated member extending from the hub and defining at least one passageway, at least one portion of the elongated member comprising a shape memory polymer and for placement within the patient'"'"'s blood vessel when the elongated member is in a compressed state in which the at least one passageway is sized to receive a guidewire but not to carry fluid at a sufficiently high predetermined rate into and/or out of the patient'"'"'s body, the at least one portion of the elongated member configured to change to an expanded state after placement within the patient'"'"'s blood vessel in order to be able to carry fluid at the sufficiently high predetermined rate, at least one section of the at least one portion of the elongated member being more flexible than at least the remainder of the at least one portion of the elongated member. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A medical device for insertion into a blood vessel of a patient and for carrying one or more fluids into and/or out of the patient'"'"'s body, the medical device comprising:
an elongated member defining at least one passageway, at least one portion of the elongated member comprising a shape memory polymer and for placement within the patient'"'"'s blood vessel when the elongated member is in a compressed state in which the at least one passageway is sized to receive a guidewire but not to carry fluid at a sufficiently high predetermined rate into and/or out of the patient'"'"'s body, the at least one portion of the elongated member configured to change to an expanded state after placement within the patient'"'"'s blood vessel in order to be able to carry fluid at the sufficiently high predetermined rate, at least one section of the at least one portion of the elongated member comprising a plurality of axial folds that unfold when the elongated member is in the expanded state. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification