Puncturable catheter

• US 9,119,937 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2011
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: W. L. Gore & Associates (W.L. Gore & Associates)
• Original Assignee: W. L. Gore & Associates (W.L. Gore & Associates)
• Inventors: Armstrong, Joseph R., Cully, Edward H., Flury, Keith M., Vonesh, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): GILBERT, ANDREW M
• Application Number:
  US13/186,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20110276012A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,505 Days
• Field of Search: 604/156, 604/128, 604/104, 604/124, 604/153, 604/116, 604/102.03, 604/524, 604526- 27, 604/43, 604/510, 604/525, 604/96.01, 604/97.01, 604/102.02, 604/103.04, 604/103.09, 604/160, 604/166.01, 604/264
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/958 Inflatable balloons for placing stents or stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/0183 Rapid exchange or monorail catheters
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/0188 having slitted or breakaway lumens
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/1056 having guide wire lumens outside the main shaft, i.e. the guide wire lumen is within or on the surface of the balloon
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/1081 having sheaths or the like for covering the balloon but not forming a permanent part of the balloon, e.g. retractable, dissolvable or tearable sheaths
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0043 characterised by structural features
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/005 with embedded materials for reinforcement, e.g. wires, coils, braids
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0052 Localized reinforcement, e.g. where only a specific part of the catheter is reinforced, for rapid exchange guidewire port
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/10 Balloon catheters A61M25/0125 takes precedence; embolectomy A61B17/22032; retractors A61B17/02; inflatable balloons for placing stents or stent-grafts A61F2/958 ; stomach balloons for treatment of obesity A61F5/0003; oesophagal tubes A61J15/00

Abstract

A catheter provided with a guidewire catheter lumen having a thin covering that is easily punctured by a guidewire at virtually any desired point along the catheter length. The thin covering may be integral with the catheter shaft, or may be a separate component that covers only the portion of the catheter shaft immediately adjacent the outer portion of the guidewire lumen, or may be a thin tubular construct that surrounds the entire catheter shaft. The covering is preferably relatively translucent, allowing for good visualization of the location of the end of the guidewire to enable puncturing of the covering at the desired location along the length of the catheter shaft. The covering is also preferably tear resistant at puncture sites. The catheter shaft is preferably made of a material having a color that provides good visibility against an operating field, and more preferably is phosphorescent either entirely or in part. Materials suitable for the catheter shaft are polymeric materials well known in the art; the catheter shaft may optionally be provided with metallic stiffening components such as wires or hypotubes along all or part of the catheter length.

Claims

1. A catheter assembly comprising a catheter shaft having a length and having at least one slot having a length extending along at least a portion of the length of said catheter shaft, wherein said at least one slot is provided with a puncturable cover comprising a polymeric tubular form having a length, said polymeric tubular form inserted into said at least one slot, wherein said polymeric tubular form is puncturable at any point along the length of the slot covered by the polymeric tubular form by an end of a guidewire from within the polymeric tubular form thereby resulting in a hole in the polymeric tubular form, said hole allowing the end of the guidewire to exit the catheter shaft via the hole.

2. A catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein said polymeric tubular form comprises a thin polymeric material.

3. A catheter assembly according to claim 2 wherein said thin polymeric material comprises a helically wrapped porous polytetrafluoroethylene tape.