Puncturable catheter

• US 8,016,752 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2003
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: W. L. Gore & Associates (W.L. Gore & Associates)
• Original Assignee: Gore Enterprise Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Armstrong, Joseph R., Flury, Keith M., Vonesh, Michael J., Cully, Edward H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sirmons; Kevin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gilbert; Andrew M
• Application Number:
  US10/402,083
• Publication Number:
  US 20040193139A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,091 Days
• Field of Search: 604/93.01, 604/96.01, 604/263, 604/523, 604/524, 604/526, 604/527, 604/102.03, 604526- 27, 604/43, 604/510, 604/525, 604/97.01, 604/102.02, 604/103.04, 604/103.09, 604/160, 604/166.01, 604/264, 606/192, 606/194, 600/156, 600/128, 600/104, 600/124, 600/153, 600/116
• US Class Current: 600/156
• 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 flexible catheter shaft having a length and an outer surface, and having at least one longitudinally oriented slot extending along at least a portion of the length of said catheter shaft, wherein said slot is provided with an outer cover consisting essentially of a helically wrapped porous polytetrafluoroethylene tape whereby said covered slot provides a lumen extending along the portion of the length of the catheter shaft, said cover adhered to the outer surface of the catheter shaft adjacent to the slot, said cover being puncturable at multiple points along the length by the back end of a guidewire, said cover being resistant to tearing by the guidewire at a puncture site following having been punctured by the guidewire.

2. A catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein said helically wrapped tape comprises two layers with the two layers applied at different wrap angles.

3. A catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein said porous polytetrafluoroethylene is provided with a non-porous coating.

4. A catheter assembly according to claim 3 wherein said cover is translucent.

5. A catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein said cover is translucent or transparent wherein a guidewire located within the slot is visible through the cover.

6. A catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein said lumen is a guidewire lumen.

7. A catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein said lumen extends for most of the length of the catheter.

8. A catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein said lumen extends for all of the length of the catheter.