Low thermal resistance elastic sleeves for medical device balloons

Abstract

Medical devices that are configured for insertion into a body lumen, such as the male urethra, are provided with one or more inflatable balloons having elastic sleeves, wherein each elastic sleeve is adapted to inflate in response to inflation of a respective balloon, and to deflate in response to deflation of the respective balloon. When a balloon is in a deflated condition, a respective elastic sleeve exerts a circumferentially compressive force against the balloon to cause a smooth, reduced cross-sectional profile of the balloon along an axial extent thereof. This smooth, reduced cross-sectional profile can facilitate passage of the medical device through a body lumen during both insertion and extraction of the medical device. A thin layer of fluid may be disposed between a treatment balloon and a respective elastic sleeve to facilitate heat transfer from a treatment balloon to a surrounding elastic sleeve or to administer a therapeutic agent to localized tissue.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.