Catheter apparatus and methods for treating vasculatures

• US 7,988,646 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2008
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Roxwood Medical, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mark Taber
• Inventors: Taber, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): HOEKSTRA, JEFFREY GERBEN
• Application Number:
  US12/147,130
• Publication Number:
  US 20090005757A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• Field of Search: 600/585, 604/93.01, 604/95.04, 604/164.01, 604/164.08, 604/164.13, 604/530, 604/532, 604533-536, 604/284
• US Class Current: 600/585
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/221 Gripping devices in the form of loops or baskets for gripping calculi or similar types of obstructions surgical snare instruments A61B17/32056
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/22094 for crossing total occlusions, i.e. piercing
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/0046 Coatings for improving slidability
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/0293 Catheter, guide wire or the like with means for holding, centering, anchoring or frictionally engaging the device within an artificial lumen, e.g. tube
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/0681 Systems with catheter and outer tubing, e.g. sheath, sleeve or guide tube
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/1045 for treating bifurcations, e.g. balloons in y-configuration, separate balloons or special features of the catheter for treating bifurcations
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/109 having balloons for removing solid matters, e.g. by grasping or scraping plaque, thrombus or other matters that obstruct the flow
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0026 Multi-lumen catheters with stationary elements catheter assemblies comprising a catheter in combination with a guide tube, sheath or sleeve A61M2025/0681; catheters comprising telescoping coaxial elements A61M2025/0175
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0068 Static characteristics of the catheter tip, e.g. shape, atraumatic tip, curved tip or tip structure
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0071 Multiple separate lumens multiple separate lumens throughout the catheter A61M25/0026
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0074 Dynamic characteristics of the catheter tip, e.g. openable, closable, expandable or deformable
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/008 Strength or flexibility characteristics of the catheter tip
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0082 Catheter tip comprising a tool
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/01 Introducing, guiding, advancing, emplacing or holding catheters A61M25/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/02 Holding devices, e.g. on the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/04 in the body, e.g. expansible A61M25/10, A61M16/0488 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/09041 Mechanisms for insertion of guide wires
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/1002 characterised by balloon shape A61M25/1006, A61M25/1009 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/1011 Multiple balloon catheters

Abstract

A catheter apparatus may have a flexible shaft, guidewire lumens passing through the shaft, and a positioning device for positioning the guidewires relative to an external lumen. The positioning device may be an expansible scaffold covered with a retractable sheath. The positioning device may also be one or more balloons that are inflated through an inflation port in the shaft. The catheter apparatus may be operated by inserting a guide catheter into a vasculature with a chronic total occlusion, inserting the catheter apparatus into the guide catheter, and advancing the guidewires through the guidewire lumens and into contact with a chronic total occlusion. The positioning device may be activated before and/or between attempts to pass the guidewires through the chronic total occlusion to interrogate various parts of the chronic total occlusion.

Claims

1. A catheter apparatus comprising:

a multi-lumen main catheter shaft;

one or more guidewire lumen shafts extending from a distal end of the multi-lumen main catheter shaft with lumens within the one or more guidewire lumen shafts contiguous with at least one of the multi-lumens of the multi-lumen main catheter shaft;

an expansible support structure coupled to the distal end of the multi-lumen main catheter shaft;

one or more loops each corresponding to one of the one or more guidewire lumens, wherein the one or more loops are coupled to the expansible support structure, and wherein the one or more loops project inward toward an interior of the expansible support structure; and

wherein the one or more guidewire lumen shafts are threaded through the corresponding one or more loops.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more loops are coupled to the expansible support structure by loop connections.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sheath surrounding the expansible support structure when the expansible support structure is in a compressed state.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sheath may be withdrawn from around the expansible support structure to expand the expansible support structure.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the sheath may be advanced around the expansible support structure to compress the expansible support structure.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the expansible support structure comprises closed cells.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the one or more loops are located on closed cells separated by one closed cell.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the proximal closed cell is coupled to the multi-lumen main catheter shaft.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the closed cells comprise zigzag struts.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising connectors between the struts of a closed cell and the struts of a neighboring closed cell.