Aspiration catheters with expandable distal tip
AssigneeElixir Medical Corporation
InventorsMotasim Sirhan, Benjamyn Serna, Kim Nguyen, John Yan, Matthew Tyler Surber
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Abstract
An aspiration catheter includes a catheter body having a proximal end, a distal end, and an aspiration lumen therebetween. A distal segment comprising an expandable distal tip of the aspiration catheter comprises a membrane and an expandable supporting structure, such as a scaffold, configured to radially expand the expandable distal tip. The expandable supporting structure may include supporting elements and other features which increase resistance to collapse of the expandable membrane under vacuum or negative pressure applied to aspirate clot through the aspiration lumen in the expanded configuration.
Claims35
A catheter comprising:
- a tubular catheter body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen extending therebetween;
- and
- a radially expandable distal tip at the distal end of the tubular catheter body, the radially expandable distal tip having a central passage contiguous with the lumen of the tubular catheter body, wherein the radially expandable distal tip comprises a supporting structure coupled to a membrane, wherein the supporting structure comprises:
- (a) a plurality of radially expandable circumferential rings arranged along a longitudinal axis with circumferential gaps therebetween;
- and
- (b) a multiplicity of supporting elements, each supporting element having a base end and a free end, wherein the base end is attached to one of the radially expandable circumferential rings and the free end extends axially and/or circumferentially away from the one of the radially expandable circumferential rings;
- wherein at least some of the free ends of the supporting elements are recessed within the radially expandable circumferential rings and do not protrude into the circumferential gaps prior to radial expansion of the radially expandable distal tip;
- and
- wherein at least some of the free ends of the supporting elements protrude into the circumferential gaps after expansion of the radially expandable distal tip.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.