Enhanced flexibility neurovascular catheter
AssigneeIncept, LLC
InventorsBrandon Yee, Ashoor Shahbazi Yourgenlow, Yi Yang, Farhad Khosravi, Joseph Rimsa
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Abstract
A catheter is provided comprising localized regions of modified flexibility. The regions of modified flexibility may comprise a softened inner liner, for example softened via stretching the inner liner or disposing a plurality of holes in the inner liner, to modify the bending stiffness and/or tensile stiffness of the catheter. The catheter may further include an axially extending filament that at least partially overlaps the softened portion of the inner liner. The axially extending filament may include an anchoring section to anchor the at least one axially extending filament in a section of the catheter that includes the helical coil.
Claims14
A method of making a flexible distal zone on a neurovascular catheter, having an elongate tubular body with a distal end, comprising:
- forming a tubular inner liner on a mandrel;
- softening at least a portion of the tubular inner liner on the mandrel, wherein softening comprises applying tension axially to the portion of the tubular inner liner such that the tubular inner liner comprises a stretched portion and an unstretched portion after softening the portion of the tubular inner liner;
- applying a helical coil to an outside of the tubular inner liner;
- positioning a plurality of tubular segments over the helical coil, the plurality of tubular segments having durometers that decrease in a distal direction;
- heating the plurality of tubular segments to form the flexible distal zone on the neurovascular catheter;
- and
- removing the mandrel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.