# US 2016/0354577 A1 · Systems and methods to increase rigidity and snag-resistance of catheter tip > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2016/0354577 A1 - Document ID: US20160354577A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/216,303 - Filed: 2016-07-21 - Published: 2016-12-08 - Earliest claimed: 2011-08-31 - Assignees: Becton, Dickinson and Company - Applicants: Becton, Dickinson and Company - Inventors: Siddarth K. Shevgoor - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160354577A1 ## CPC - A61M 25/007: {Side holes, e.g. their profiles or arrangements; Provisions to keep side holes unblocked} - A61M 25/0015: {Making lateral openings in a catheter tube, e.g. holes, slits, ports, piercings of guidewire ports; Methods for processing the holes, e.g. smoothing the edges} - A61M 25/0068: {Static characteristics of the catheter tip, e.g. shape, atraumatic tip, curved tip or tip structure} - A61M 25/008: {Strength or flexibility characteristics of the catheter tip} - A61M 2025/0073: {Tip designed for influencing the flow or the flow velocity of the fluid, e.g. inserts for twisted or vortex flow} - Y10T 29/49826: Assembling or joining - A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)} - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract A venous catheter having a catheter tip comprising recessed diffusion holes for increasing the snag-resistance of the venous catheter. The invention further provides systems and methods for providing axial ridges interposed between diffusion holes for increasing the rigidity of the vented catheter tip. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A peripheral catheter, comprising: a catheter body comprising an outer surface, a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen, wherein the distal end comprises a distal opening, wherein the lumen extends between the proximal end and the distal lumen opening; a recess formed in the outer surface of the catheter body, wherein the recess comprises two opposing sidewalls and a planar surface separating the two opposing sidewalls; and a hole positioned in the planar surface such that the planar surface surrounds the hole, wherein the hole is formed through a wall thickness of the catheter body and in fluid communication with the lumen. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The peripheral catheter of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of holes positioned in the planar surface such that the planar surface surrounds each of the plurality of holes. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The peripheral catheter of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of strips of stiffening material, wherein each of the plurality of strips is surrounded by the catheter body. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The peripheral catheter of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of strips is spaced apart from the hole. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The peripheral catheter of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of strips is elongated and extends along a length of the catheter body. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The peripheral catheter of claim 1, wherein a bore angle of the hole is oblique to an inner wall surface of the lumen. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The peripheral catheter of claim 1, wherein the recess further comprises a flow breaking feature, wherein the flow breaking feature is positioned on one or both of the two opposing sidewalls. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The peripheral catheter of claim 1, wherein a first of the two opposing sidewalls comprises a first end and a second end, wherein a second of the two opposing sidewalls comprises a first end and a second end, wherein the first ends of the first and second opposing sidewalls are aligned, wherein the second ends of the first and second opposing sidewalls are aligned. ### Claim 9 A method for manufacturing a snag-resistant, vented peripheral catheter, the method comprising: providing a catheter body comprising an outer surface, a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen, wherein the distal end comprises a distal opening, wherein the lumen extends between the proximal end and the distal lumen opening; providing a recess formed in the outer surface of the catheter body, wherein the recess comprises two opposing sidewalls and a planar surface separating the two opposing sidewalls; and providing a hole positioned in the planar surface such that the planar surface surrounds the hole, wherein the hole is formed through a wall thickness of the catheter body and in fluid communication with the lumen. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of providing a plurality of other holes in the planar surface such that the planar surface surrounds each of the other holes. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of providing a plurality of other recesses formed in the outer surface of the catheter body, wherein each of the other recesses comprises two other opposing sidewalls and another planar surface separating the other opposing sidewalls. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of providing another hole positioned in the other planar surface, wherein the other hole is formed through the wall thickness of the catheter body and in fluid communication with the lumen. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of interposing a flow breaking feature between the hole and the outer surface of the catheter body. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the flow breaking feature is positioned on one or both of the two opposing sidewalls. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the flow disrupter is an inward projection. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein a bore angle of the hole is oblique to an inner wall surface of the lumen. ### Claim 17 A peripheral catheter, comprising: a catheter body comprising an outer surface, a proximal end, a distal end, and a single lumen, wherein the distal end comprises a distal opening, wherein the single lumen extends between the proximal end and the distal lumen opening; a recess formed in the outer surface of the catheter body, wherein the recess comprises a first side wall, a second side wall, and a planar surface extending from the first side wall to the second sidewall; and a hole positioned in the planar surface such that the planar surface surrounds the hole, wherein the hole comprises a third sidewall, wherein the third sidewall comprises an outer edge, wherein the hole is formed through a wall thickness of the catheter body and in fluid communication with the lumen. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) A peripheral catheter of claim 17, wherein the outer edge is level with the planar surface. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The peripheral catheter of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of holes positioned in the planar surface such that the planar surface surrounds each of the plurality of holes. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The peripheral catheter of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of strips of stiffening material, wherein each of the plurality of strips is elongated, surrounded by the catheter body, spaced apart from the hole, and extends parallel to the lumen.