Conduit for interventional procedures

Abstract

A conduit, such as an introducer sheath, catheter, or guide catheter, incorporating two or more separate lumens to prevent the entanglement of guidewires located at least partially within the conduit. The lumens are separated by at least one disruptable barrier that allows multiple lumens to be converted into fewer lumens prior to or as a device is advanced through the introducer sheath.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] Novel conduits, such as guide catheters and catheter introducer sheaths, for use in interventional procedures, particularly introducer sheaths adapted for use with multiple guidewires.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] It is often desirable to use multiple guidewires in various endovascular procedures. For example when deploying stent graft aneurismal repair devices within branched vasculature, a first guidewire would be used to access the main artery while second and / or third guidewires would access the side branched arteries. Stent grafts with multiple guidewire ports would then be advanced along the respective guidewires and deployed at the desired sites. A common problem associated with the use of multiple guidewires is the “crossing” or entanglement of the guidewires in the vasculature proximal to the treatment site. Crossed and entangled guidewires prohibit or severely restrict the ability to advance...

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