Reinforced catheter with a formable distal tip
First Claim
1. A catheter section comprising:
- a.) a tubular forming member having a first form and a second form different from the first form, andb.) a heat softenable polymeric covering exterior to said tubular forming member, said covering maintaining said tubular forming member in said first form until subjected to a heating step,wherein upon heating said catheter section, said polymeric covering softens and said forming member self-forms to said second form and said forming member maintains said second form upon cooling.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
This is a section of a catheter which self-forms a selected shape upon application of a modest amount of heat and retains that shape upon cooling and, indeed, upon any reheating. The catheter section includes in its wall a forming member which typically comprises a super-elastic alloy oven braid or at least one coil. The forming member may include other materials and components in addition to the super-elastic element of the forming member. The forming member is typically covered by at least an outer polymeric covering which holds the forming member in a first shape prior to the heating step. Upon softening of the outer layer during that heating step, the forming member self-forms into the desired second shape. The catheter section may be used either in its first shape or its second shape or in any transitional shape between the two. Often the inner lumen of the forming member may contain a second polymeric tubing member. The inner polymeric tubing member is often lubricious. The catheter sections made according to this invention may be used alone or in conjunction with other catheter sections. The more proximal sections of a catheter assembly using this concept are often substantially stiffer.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A catheter section comprising:
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a.) a tubular forming member having a first form and a second form different from the first form, and b.) a heat softenable polymeric covering exterior to said tubular forming member, said covering maintaining said tubular forming member in said first form until subjected to a heating step, wherein upon heating said catheter section, said polymeric covering softens and said forming member self-forms to said second form and said forming member maintains said second form upon cooling. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeTarget Therapeutics, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
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Original AssigneeTarget Therapeutics, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
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InventorsNita, Henry, Park, Peter K.
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Primary Examiner(s)Coggins, Wynn Wood
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Assistant Examiner(s)Thanh, LoAn H.
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Application NumberUS08/761,659Time in Patent Office1,467 DaysField of Search604/264, 604/280.2, 604/265, 604/95, 604/523, 604/530, 604/531US Class Current604/264CPC Class CodesA61L 29/14 Materials characterised by ...A61M 2205/0266 Shape memory materialsA61M 25/0041 pre-formed, e.g. specially ...A61M 25/0052 Localized reinforcement, e....
