Balloon catheter tapered shaft having high strength and flexibility and method of making same
First Claim
1. A balloon catheter, comprisinga) an elongated shaft having a proximal section and a tubular member attached thereto with an inflation lumen extending there through, wherein said tubular member is formed of a biaxially oriented nonporous thermoplastic polymer having a Shore durometer hardness of less than about 75D and has at least a section with a diameter tapering distally over a length of at least about 30% of the length of the tubular member such that the tapering section has a bending stiffness that decreases distally by about 20% to about 80% therealong;
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Accused Products
Abstract
A catheter having an elongated shaft with a tubular member which forms at least a portion of the shaft and which is formed of a biaxially oriented thermoplastic polymeric material, and a method of forming the catheter shaft by radially and longitudinally expanding the tubular member to biaxially orient the polymeric material, and, in one embodiment, tapering the tubular member to form a bending stiffness transition. A catheter of the invention has an improved combination of low bending stiffness, high rupture pressure, and high tensile strength, for improved catheter performance.
291 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A balloon catheter, comprising
a) an elongated shaft having a proximal section and a tubular member attached thereto with an inflation lumen extending there through, wherein said tubular member is formed of a biaxially oriented nonporous thermoplastic polymer having a Shore durometer hardness of less than about 75D and has at least a section with a diameter tapering distally over a length of at least about 30% of the length of the tubular member such that the tapering section has a bending stiffness that decreases distally by about 20% to about 80% therealong; - and
b) a balloon sealingly secured to said tubular member, which has an interior in fluid communication with the inflation lumen, and a rupture pressure which is less than the rupture pressure of the shaft tubular member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A balloon catheter, comprising
a) an elongated shaft having a proximal outer tubular member that is attached to a distal outer tubular member having an inflation lumen extending therein, an inner tubular member with a guidewire lumen extending therein, wherein said inner tubular member is disposed within at least a portion of said inflation lumen, wherein said proximal outer tubular member has a constant bending stiffness and said distal outer tubular member is formed of a biaxially oriented nonporous thermoplastic polymer having a Shore durometer hardness of less than about 75D, and which has a distal section, and a tapering proximal section with a length of at least about 30% of the length of the distal outer tubular member and with a wall thickness tapering distally such that a bending stiffness of the distal outer tubular member increases proximally by at least about 65% along the tapering proximal section; - and
b) a balloon which has a proximal skirt sealingly secured to the distal outer tubular member and a distal skirt secured to the inner tubular member such that an interior of the balloon is in fluid communication with the inflation lumen, and a rupture pressure which is less than the rupture pressure of the distal outer tubular member. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification