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US 11,957,852 B2Granted
Intravascular balloon with slidable central irrigation tube
AssigneeBiosense Webster (Israel) Ltd.
InventorsJace P. Valls, Matthew W. Hitzeroth
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Abstract
A balloon catheter has a central tube that is configured to both structurally support and inflate a balloon membrane. The central tube has a lumen and sidewall inflation ports that provide a path for inflating the balloon. The lumen of the central tube is obstructed by a distal end piece, nose piece, or other structure to prevent fluid from exiting a distal end of the central tube. The central tube is configured such that, during inflation, inflation media is allowed to pass through an elongated shaft of the catheter, into a proximal open end of the central tube, and through the inflation ports into the balloon. The central tube can slide longitudinally in relation to the shaft to longitudinally elongate and/or truncate the balloon.
Claims18
A balloon catheter comprising:
- an elongated shaft extending along a longitudinal axis of the balloon catheter;
- an inflatable balloon disposed approximate a distal end of the elongated shaft and comprising an interior configured to receive an inflation medium to inflate the inflatable balloon;
- a central tube extending along the longitudinal axis,
- at least a portion of the central tube being positioned within the inflatable balloon, providing structural support for the inflatable balloon, comprising inflation ports, and comprising a central lumen in fluidic communication with the inflation ports,
- the central lumen and inflation ports providing a flow path between the inflatable balloon interior and the elongated shaft to allow the inflation medium to pass from the elongated shaft into the interior of the inflatable balloon,
- the central tube being coupled to the distal end of the elongated shaft so that the central tube is movable to extend and/or contract the inflatable balloon in length in relation to the longitudinal axis, and
- a distal end of the inflatable balloon being affixed to the central tube and a proximal end of the inflatable balloon being affixed to the elongated shaft;
- an elastic element, coupled to the central tube and shaft and configured to self-elongate thereby sliding the central tube in relation to the shaft and extending the inflatable balloon in length in relation to the longitudinal axis;
- a puller-wire connected to the central tube, extending through the shaft, and configured to be accessible for retraction during treatment so that retraction of the puller-wire compresses the elastic element in along the longitudinal axis thereby sliding the central tube in relation to the shaft and contracting the inflatable balloon in length in relation to the longitudinal axis;
- and
- an end plug disposed approximate a distal end of the central tube and configured to prevent loss of fluid through the distal end of the central tube.
8 more elements
A catheter comprising:
- an elongated shaft extending along a longitudinal axis of the catheter;
- an inflatable balloon disposed approximate a distal end of the elongated shaft and comprising an interior configured to receive an inflation medium to inflate the inflatable balloon to a first expanded volume defined by a truncated cone having its base connected to a semi-toroid;
- a central tube extending along the longitudinal axis,
- at least a portion of the central tube being positioned within the inflatable balloon, providing structural support for the inflatable balloon, comprising inflation ports, and comprising a central lumen in fluidic communication with the inflation ports,
- the central lumen and inflation ports providing a flow path between the inflatable balloon interior and the elongated shaft to allow the inflation medium to pass from the elongated shaft into the interior of the inflatable balloon,
- the central tube being configured to move distally along the longitudinal axis to change the first expanded volume to a second expanded volume defined substantially by two truncated cones connected at their respective bases;
- an elastic element, coupled to the central tube and shaft and configured to self-elongate thereby sliding the central tube in relation to the shaft and extending the inflatable balloon in length in relation to the longitudinal axis;
- a puller-wire connected to the central tube, extending through the shaft, and configured to be accessible for retraction during treatment so that retraction of the puller-wire compresses the elastic element along the longitudinal axis thereby sliding the central tube in relation to the shaft and contracting the inflatable balloon in length in relation to the longitudinal axis;
- and
- a distal plug positioned to prevent loss of fluid through a distal end of the central tube.
7 more elements
A method comprising:
- inflating an inflatable balloon of a balloon catheter through a flow path that traverses an elongated shaft of the balloon catheter, a central lumen of a central tube positioned within the inflatable balloon, inflation ports of the central tube, and an interior of the inflatable balloon;
- structurally supporting the inflatable balloon along a longitudinal axis of the balloon catheter with the central tube, the central tube being aligned with the longitudinal axis so that at least a portion of the central tube is positioned within the inflatable balloon;
- extending the inflatable balloon in length in relation to the longitudinal axis by allowing an elastic element coupled to the central tube and shaft to self-elongate thereby sliding the central tube longitudinally in relation to the shaft;
- and
- contracting the inflatable balloon in length in relation to the longitudinal axis by retracting a puller-wire connected to the central tube and extending through the shaft thereby compressing the elastic element along the longitudinal axis and sliding the central tube longitudinally in relation to the shaft.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.