Methods of selectively modifying the flexibility of medical tubes
AssigneeHollister Incorporated
InventorsDavid J. Farrell, Padraig M. O'Flynn, John P. O'Mahony, Richard Meaney, John T. Clarke
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Abstract
Methods of varying the stiffness of polymeric medical tubes.
Claims18
A method of modifying a pre-formed polymeric tube of an intermittent urinary catheter by varying the flexibility along the length of the pre-formed polymeric tube, the pre-formed polymeric tube including a proximal end portion with an insertion tip and at least one eyelet and a distal end portion with a drainage member, the method comprising:
- contacting alternating sections along the length of the pre-formed polymeric tube of an intermittent urinary catheter with a polymerizable monomer, said polymerizable monomer being absorbed into the alternating sections along the length of the pre-formed polymeric tube;
- and
- polymerizing the polymerizable monomer absorbed in the alternating sections of the pre-formed polymeric tube, thereby increasing the stiffness of the alternating sections of the pre-formed polymeric tube and varying the flexibility along the length of the polymeric tube.
A method of making a pre-formed polymeric tube of an intermittent urinary catheter thereby varying the flexibility along the length of the polymeric tube, the catheter including a catheter tube having a proximal end portion with an insertion tip and at least one eyelet and a distal end portion with a drainage member, the method comprising:
- contacting a first non-inflatable section along the length of the pre-formed polymeric tube of an intermittent urinary catheter with a polymerizable monomer, said polymerizable monomer being absorbed into the first non-inflatable section of the pre-formed polymeric tube;
- contacting a second non-inflatable section along the length of the pre-formed polymeric tube, wherein the second non-inflatable section is spaced apart along the length of the pre-formed polymeric tube from the first non-inflatable section of the pre-formed polymeric tube;
- and
- polymerizing the polymerizable monomer absorbed in the first and second non-inflatable sections of the pre-formed polymeric tube, thereby increasing the stiffness of the first and second non-inflatable sections of the pre-formed polymeric tube and varying the flexibility along the length of the polymeric tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.