Catheter having geometrically shaped surface and method of manufacture

• US 5,792,116 A
• Filed: 05/13/1997
• Issued: 08/11/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Scimed Life Systems Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Prather, Richard R., Bachinski, Thomas J., Berg, Todd A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bockelman, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRING, NOELLE K
• Application Number:
  US08/855,223
• Time in Patent Office: 455 Days
• Field of Search: 604/282, 604/95-103, 604/281, 604/283, 604/264-5, 604/93, 604/164, 606/191-192, 606/194, 128/772
• US Class Current: 604/202
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/0062 having features to improve the sliding of one part within another by using lubricants or surfaces with low friction
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0012 with embedded structures, e.g. coils, braids, meshes, strands or radiopaque coils
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0021 characterised by the form of the tubing A61M25/0054 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0023 by the form of the lumen, e.g. cross-section, variable diameter

Abstract

Catheter and method of manufacturing such catheter. The catheter includes an elongate shaft having an interior lumen extending therethrough. The interior surface of the lumen is geometrically configured to reduce friction and increase catheter performance. Additionally, the geometrically configured inside surface allows dye or blood to perfuse past the distal end of the catheter when engaged in the coronary artery. The catheter may also include a geometrically configured outer surface at its distal end having perfusion channels to allow blood to perfuse past the distal end of the catheter during catheter engagement.

Claims

1. In a braided catheter having a generally elongate shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, with a lumen extending longitudinally between the proximal end and the distal end, the shaft including a first inner layer, a second braided layer carried by the first inner layer, and a third outer layer coupled to the first inner layer, the improvement comprising:

the first inner layer having a tubular shape and formed of a polymeric material having a shore hardness of less than 72 durometer, the first inner layer including a generally circular outer surface and a geometrically configured inside surface having a plurality of longitudinal microchannels spaced radially about the inside surface, the geometrically configured inner surface allowing easy passage of a treatment device therethrough, while maximizing the inside diameter of the catheter.

2. The braided catheter of claim 1, the improvement further comprising wherein the geometrically configured inside surface includes a plurality of longitudinal raised micro-portions, each micro-portion being adjacent a microchannel.

3. The braided catheter of claim 2, the improvement further comprising wherein a reference surface is defined by the bottom of each microchannel, and wherein each raised portion has a height relative to the reference portion of less than one hundredth of an inch relative to the reference surface.

4. The braided catheter of claim 1, wherein the microchannels extend longitudinally along the length of the elongate shaft.

5. The braided catheter of claim 1, wherein the microchannels extend longitudinally along a portion of the elongate shaft located proximate the distal end of the elongate shaft.

6. The braided catheter of claim 1, wherein there are more than twenty microchannels.

7. The braided catheter of claim 1, wherein the first inner layer has a shore hardness of less than 65 durometers.

8. A braided catheter having a generally elongate shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, with a lumen extending longitudinally between the proximal end and the distal end, the braided catheter comprising:

a first inner layer;

a second braided layer carried by the first inner layer;

a third outer layer coupled to the first inner layer; and

means for maximizing the diameter of the lumen including the first inner layer having a tubular shape and formed of a polymeric material having a shore hardness of less than 72 durometer, the first inner layer including a generally circular outer surface and a geometrically configured inside surface having a plurality of longitudinal microchannels spaced radially about the inside surface, the geometrically configured inner surface allowing easy passage of a treatment device therethrough, while maximizing the inside diameter of the catheter.

9. The braided catheter of claim 8, the improvement further comprising wherein the geometrically configured inside surface includes a plurality of longitudinal raised micro-portions, each micro-portion being adjacent a microchannel.

10. The braided catheter of claim 8, the improvement further comprising wherein a reference surface is defined by the bottom of each microchannel, and wherein each raised portion has a height relative to the reference portion of less than one hundredth of an inch relative to the reference surface.

11. The braided catheter of claim 8, wherein the microchannels extend longitudinally along the length of the elongate shaft.

12. The braided catheter of claim 8, wherein the microchannels extend longitudinally along a portion of the elongate shaft located proximate the distal end of the elongate shaft.

13. The braided catheter of claim 8, wherein there are more than twenty microchannels.