Reinforced medical balloon
First Claim
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1. A balloon catheter, comprising:
- an elongate shaft having a proximal end and a distal end;
an inflatable balloon positioned adjacent to the distal end of the elongate shaft;
a plurality of grooves formed within an exterior surface of the balloon, at least some of the plurality of grooves intersecting at a plurality of intersection points and forming a plurality of non-grooved land areas; and
a coating disposed within and filling the grooves, wherein the coating includes nanotubes; and
wherein at least some of the plurality of grooves have a width to depth ratio that is about 10;
1 or less.
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Abstract
The invention relates to medical balloons, and methods of modifying said balloons by forming a void pattern in their exterior surfaces and filling the voids with a material, such as a fiber or a nanomaterial (e.g., nanotubes, such as carbon nanotubes) and a matrix material, e.g., a polymer.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A balloon catheter, comprising:
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an elongate shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; an inflatable balloon positioned adjacent to the distal end of the elongate shaft; a plurality of grooves formed within an exterior surface of the balloon, at least some of the plurality of grooves intersecting at a plurality of intersection points and forming a plurality of non-grooved land areas; and a coating disposed within and filling the grooves, wherein the coating includes nanotubes; and wherein at least some of the plurality of grooves have a width to depth ratio that is about 10;
1 or less. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A balloon catheter, comprising:
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a catheter shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; an inflatable balloon having a wall having an interior surface and an exterior surface defining a wall thickness therebetween; one or more voids formed in the exterior surface of the balloon and extending towards the interior surface defining one or more land areas, wherein at least some of the voids have a width to depth ratio that is about 10;
1 or less;a coating comprising a nanomaterial disposed within the one or more voids; wherein the nanomaterial includes nanotubes; wherein the one or more voids have a wall thickness less than the wall thickness between the interior surface and the exterior surface of the balloon and the one or more land areas have a thickness approximately equal to the wall thickness between the interior surface and the exterior surface of the balloon. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A method of forming a medical device, comprising:
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forming a plurality of grooves in a wall of a medical balloon to reduce a wall thickness defined between an interior surface and an exterior surface of the wall, the plurality of grooves defining a pattern of recesses and non-recessed land areas; and adding a nanomaterial into the grooves, wherein the nanomaterial includes nanotubes; and wherein at least some of the plurality of grooves have a width to depth ratio that is about 10;
1 or less. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification