A microcatheter for interventional cardiovascular and/or neurovascular applications

A catheter, being a microcatheter for interventional cardiovascular and/or interventional neurovascular applications,

• wherein the catheter comprises a tubular catheter wall, which is surrounding a lumen structure of the catheter, the catheter wall having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end, wherein the catheter wall has a length of at least 1000 mm from the proximal end to the distal end along the longitudinal direction;
• wherein the catheter wall comprises:
• a proximal section, being defined as extending distally along the longitudinal direction from the proximal end to a first position at 100 mm proximal from the distal end, and
• a distal section, being defined as extending distally along the longitudinal direction from said first position to the distal end,
• wherein the distal section comprises a distal tip of the catheter, which is defined as extending proximally along the longitudinal direction from the distal end to a second position at 7 mm proximal from the distal end;
• and wherein the catheter wall at least in a part of the distal section comprises:
• a skeleton, which provides reinforcement of the catheter wall in the longitudinal direction, as well in a circumferential direction around the longitudinal direction, wherein the skeleton is an interrupted tubular reinforcement wall obtained by microfabricating a cut pattern in a fully uninterrupted tubular reinforcement wall made of a reinforcement material, and wherein the reinforcement material of the skeleton, everywhere in a continuous-skeleton-range along the longitudinal direction, is continuously extending to form at least one elongated continuous reinforcement structure all along said continuous-skeleton-range, wherein said continuous-skeleton-range is at least extending distally along the longitudinal direction from the first position to a position at 2 mm proximal from the distal end,
• an inner liner, which at least in said continuous-skeleton-range is co-axially surrounded by said skeleton relative to a center line of the catheter wall, and
• an outer laminate, which at least in said continuous-skeleton-range is co-axially surrounding said skeleton relative to the center line of the catheter wall;
• and wherein an overall skeleton cut-away ratio of a longitudinal section of the catheter wall in a longitudinal range along the longitudinal direction is defined as the percentage of:
• the volume of all parts, within said longitudinal range, of said reinforcement material being cut-away from said fully uninterrupted tubular reinforcement wall according to said microfabricated cut pattern,
• relative to
• the volume of all parts, within said longitudinal range, of said reinforcement material of said fully uninterrupted tubular reinforcement wall;
• and wherein the overall skeleton cut-away ratio of all parts of the distal section that are within said continuous-skeleton-range is at least 50%,
• and wherein the overall skeleton cut-away ratio of all parts of the distal tip that are within said continuous-skeleton-range is at least 20%.