Expanded UHMWPE for guiding catheter liners and other lubricious coatings
AssigneeAdvanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
InventorsMatt Chludzinski, Eric Hammill
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An intraluminal catheter, such as a guiding catheter, employed for intravascular procedures and having an inner liner formed of expanded Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) is disclosed. The expanded UHMWPE is microporous and has an oriented microstructure structure characterized by nodes interconnected by fibrils. The inner liner formed of expanded UHMWPE is very thin to maximize the inner lumen diameter and has excellent mechanical properties.
Claims21
An intraluminal catheter, comprising:
- an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, a proximal shaft section, a distal shaft section which is more flexible than the proximal shaft section, and an inner lumen extending longitudinally therethrough, the shaft having at least a layer comprising expanded UHMWPE, wherein the expanded UHMWPE is microporous and has a node and fibril microstructure comprising nodes interconnected by fibrils.
A catheter, comprising:
- an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, an inner lumen extending longitudinally therethrough to a port in the distal end of the catheter shaft, a length of about 90 to about 130 cm, and an inner liner defining the inner lumen, the inner liner comprising microporous expanded UHMWPE and having a thickness of about 0.00025 to about 0.0005 inch.
A method for manufacturing an intraluminal guiding catheter shaft with an inner liner including expanded UHMWPE, comprising:
- providing a polymeric outer jacket;
- providing a tubular inner liner including expanded UHMWPE;
- providing a reinforcing structure;
- disposing the tubular inner liner within the polymer outer jacket with the reinforcing structure therebetween;
- and
- bonding the tubular inner liner to the polymeric outer jacket and fusing the reinforcing structure therebetween.
An intraluminal guiding catheter, comprising:
- an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, an inner lumen extending longitudinally therethrough, a polymeric outer layer, and an inner liner comprising expanded UHMWPE, wherein the shaft includes varying stiffness along its length;
- and
- an open-walled reinforcing structure disposed coaxially over the inner liner between the inner liner and the polymeric outer layer, the reinforcing structure, inner liner, and polymeric outer layer being fixedly secured together.
An intraluminal guiding catheter, comprising:
- an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and an inner lumen extending longitudinally therethrough, the shaft including expanded UHMWPE, wherein the expanded UHMWPE is microporous and has a node and fibril microstructure comprising nodes interconnected by fibrils;
- and
- where in the shaft further includes a polymeric outer jacket and a non-implantable reinforcing structure fused into the shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.