106 results about "Distal catheter" patented technology

The present invention pertains to a local delivery device comprising a distal catheter unit and a proximal catheter unit which may be positioned by sliding over the distal catheter unit. Both the distal and the proximal catheter units have separate inflatable occluding balloons. The slidable positioning of the catheter units in relation to each other provides for variable inter-balloon distances, which in turn provides for a variably sized occlusion region in a hollow tubular organ, for example a vessel. Dispersed on the catheter shaft between the two occluding balloons are multiple infusion ports through which therapeutic agents may be delivered to an occluded region of a hollow tubular organ. The local delivery device may further comprise a quantifying device for determining the distance between the two occluding balloons. Therefore, precise adjustment of the inter-balloon distance permits controlled delivery of therapeutics to a discreet length of the hollow tubular organ wall.

A wire control catheter for aligning and guiding a guide wire through a lesion in a vessel is provided. The wire control catheter includes a shaft having a guide wire lumen and a control wire lumen. A control wire passes through the control wire lumen and is used in combination with an articulation structure to deflect or curve a distal tip portion of the catheter. The distal catheter shaft may include a centering device for centering the catheter within the vessel. The distal catheter shaft also may include a pre-dilation balloon for dilating the lesion prior to performing angioplasty or other treatment on the lesion. Additionally, a sliding sheath catheter may be used to provide additional support to the guide wire. The sliding sheath catheter is sized to fit within the guide wire lumen of the control catheter and to allow the guide wire to pass through it. A method of treatment of a blood vessel includes inserting a guide wire into the blood vessel and advancing a control catheter over the guide wire until the distal tip of catheter is near the occlusion in the blood vessel. The tip of the catheter then is deflected via a control wire and an articulation structure. The guide wire is then advanced across the occlusion. The control catheter also may be advanced across the occlusion simultaneously with the guide wire or subsequent to the guide wire crossing. Prior to crossing the occlusion, the wire control catheter may be centered using a centering device. Subsequent to crossing the occlusion, the occlusion may be pre-dilated with a pre-dilation balloon of the wire control catheter.

Methods of fabricating medical vascular catheters adapted to be inserted into a blood vessel from an incision through the skin of a patient for introducing other devices or fluids for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and particularly methods for fabricating such catheters with catheter bodies having catheter sections of differing flexibility are disclosed. Such catheter bodies having a proximal catheter body end and a distal catheter body end and formed of a proximal section and at least one distal section that have differing flexibilities are formed in a process comprising the steps of: (1) forming a continuous tubular inner jacket preferably of an inner liner and a reinforcement layer; (2) forming initial layer segments having an initial layer thickness along the length of the inner jacket from a material of first durometer hardness, whereby each initial layer segment is separated by a separation distance: (3) forming a final layer of a material of second durometer hardness with a second layer thickness over the tubular inner jacket along the separation distances and over and/or against the proximal and distal initial layer ends of the initial layer segments to form a continuous catheter body tubing; (4) severing the continuous catheter body tubing into catheter body lengths including a proximal catheter section formed of the material of second hardness and a distal catheter section of the material of first hardness; and (5) completing the catheter fabrication at the proximal catheter body end and the distal catheter body end. Centerless grinding of the catheter body or body tubing, formation of Intermediate catheter body sections, distal soft tips, and discontinuities in the reinforcement layer formed prior to step (2) are also disclosed.

Methods and apparatus for removing emboli during an endarterectomy procedure are provided. The present invention provides a proximal catheter disposed proximal to a stenosis and a distal catheter disposed distal to the stenosis. Each catheter may selectively communicate with a venous return catheter via a manifold having a setting controlled by a physician. Blood flows into an aspiration lumen of the distal catheter and is reperfused into a remote vein via the venous return catheter. Additionally, emboli generated during the procedure are removed via an aspiration lumen of the proximal catheter, and filtered blood then is reperfused into the remote vein.

Catheters having a tapered, atraumatic distal tip are provided. In one embodiment, the outer surface of the distal portion of the catheter has a generally non-cylindrical and substantially triangular cross-sectional configuration. The inner surface cross-sectional configuration of the distal portion of the catheter may match the outer surface, or it may have a cylindrical or oval configuration. The terminal orthogonal surface of the distal catheter tip is chamfered or rounded or contoured. In another embodiment, inner and/or outer catheter surfaces have a three dimensional surface conformation and may be dimpled or grooved. The grooves may be generally liner or curved or helical or in a spiral configuration. Dimpled and/or grooved surface discontinuities may be provided in connection with and in addition to lubricious coatings, surfaces, and the like.

Compound steering assemblies, usable in both diagnostic and therapeutic applications, enable a physician to swiftly and accurately steer the distal section of the catheter in multiple planes or complex curves to position and maintain ablation and/or mapping electrodes in intimate contact with an interior body surface.

An embodiment is a catheter comprising a first elongate shaft having a proximal end, a distal end and a first lumen therethrough, a wire having a proximal end and a distal end at least partially disposed in the first elongate shaft, the distal end extending distally from the first elongate shaft, and a motion control apparatus connected to the proximal end of the wire, further comprising a device attached to the distal end of the wire for changing the shape of an embolus, wherein the device is configured to change the shape of the embolus to unclog a distal catheter lumen.

Compound steering assemblies, usable in both diagnostic and therapeutic applications, enable a physician to swiftly and accurately steer the distal section of the catheter in multiple planes or complex curves to position and maintain ablation and/or mapping electrodes in intimate contact with an interior body surface.

The present invention is distinguished by a perfusion catheter being provided comprising at least one perfusion channel designed as a hollow channel and at least two dilation units disposed at a distance from each other at the distal catheter region in the longitudinal extension of the catheter, both the dilation units being projected through by the perfusion catheter and forming in an inflated state an at least practically fluid-tight occlusion with the aortic wall, of which the dilation units at least said dilation unit disposed on the proximal side is provided with at least one passage through which at least one auxiliary catheter can be introduced aortic valve ablation in a fluid-tight manner and/or the perfusion catheter is provided with a working channel which is provided with an outlet opening in the region between the two dilation units and through which at least one auxiliary catheter can be introduced for aortic valve ablation.

A catheter with proximal and distal ends having a spiral centering device attached near the catheter distal end. The spiral centering device has at least one spiral strut having a proximal end and a distal end. The spiral centering device resiliently tends to center the distal end portion of the catheter, steering the catheter away from the vessel wall during insertion through the vasculature and toward the treatment site. The spiral centering catheter may facilitate access to tortuous anatomy by preventing the distal catheter tip from catching on irregularities in the lumenal surface. If a stent is provided on the catheter, the spiral centering catheter may also facilitate uniform stent expansion by stabilizing the catheter during stent deployment.

A tracheo-oesophageal fistula catheter (1) comprises an elongate conduit (2) having a proximal and a distal end, the conduit (2) comprising a plurality of lumens commencing adjacent to the proximal end; means (8, 9) for substantially sealing a tracheo-oesophageal fistula, the means being attached to the conduit (2) adjacent to the proximal end and comprising two elements (8, 9) to be placed on either side of the fistula; and at least one expandable balloon (7) attached to the conduit (2) adjacent to the distal end, and in fluid connection with at least one of said lumens; wherein at least one lumen is a gastric lumen, the gastric lumen extending along the full length of the conduit and having an outlet (6) at the distal end of the conduit (2), and wherein at least one element of the means for sealing the fistula comprises an expandable balloon in fluid connection with at least one of said lumens.

Cerebrospinal fluid shunts (implantable devices for diversion of excess fluid from the brain to other body cavities) used to treat hydrocephalus often malfunction. A common etiology of shunt malfunction is obstruction of the distal catheter tip by accumulating particulate matter such as fat or proteinaceous debris. The proposed implantable device maintains the patency of the cerebrospinal fluid shunt with mechanical energy which serves to “scrub” the catheter lumen of particulate debris. The proposed device accomplishes this by housing a source of mechanical energy which is coupled to the external aspect of the catheter, itself traversing through a bore in the device. The energy source secondarily induces a waveform in the cerebrospinal fluid flowing through the catheter. The fluid waveform exerts shearing forces on the catheter wall and serves to disrupt the formation and accumulation of debris that potentially could occlude the shunt catheter, thereby maintaining patency of the shunt.

A rapid exchange balloon catheter has a kink resistant distal catheter segment just proximal of the balloon with a kink resisting member to provide pushability and kink resistance while maintaining flexibility. The kink resistant distal segment allows the rapid exchange guidewire tube to be shortened for a more rapid guidewire exchange.

A catheter for insertion into a vascular system of a patient and for directing fluid flow includes a catheter body having a longitudinal axis and longitudinally spaced proximal and distal catheter ends with an intermediate catheter portion defined therebetween. An intermediate catheter outlet in the catheter body is located in the intermediate catheter portion and is spaced longitudinally from the proximal and distal catheter ends. A first lumen is defined within the catheter body and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal first lumen ends with a reversing bend located therebetween, the first lumen providing fluid communication between the proximal catheter end and the intermediate catheter outlet. The reversing bend is located longitudinally between the intermediate catheter outlet and the distal catheter end. The reversing bend directs fluid flow to turn approximately 180° as the fluid flows through the first lumen. A method of using the catheter is also described.

The present invention provides a forwardly directed fluid jet crossing catheter having a distally directed cylindrical flow fluid jet stream to cross a chronic total occlusion. The distal end of the device includes a formable catheter tip region having flexible internal components. Low and high pressure cavities are formed substantially by joined proximal and distal catheter tubes having an adhesive plug seal in common therebetween which partially defines one end of each of the low pressure and high pressure cavities. A guidewire tube and a high pressure tube are aligned along and within the low pressure and high pressure cavities and through the adhesive plug seal. The high pressure tube openly terminates in the high pressure cavity, whereby pressurized fluid transfers from the high pressure cavity in the guidewire tube entry hole to subsequently pass along the guidewire lumen and co-located guidewire to exit as a cylindrical fluid jet stream.

A catheter for hemodialysis comprises a flexible catheter tube defining a plurality of separate lumens. The catheter defines an arc angle of generally U-shape in its natural, unstressed configuration. Thus, the catheter may be implanted with a distal catheter portion residing in a vein of the patient, the distal catheter portion being of substantially the shape of the vein in its natural, unstressed condition. Also, a proximal catheter portion resides in a surgically created tunnel extending from the vein and through the skin of the patient, this section of the catheter also being typically in its natural, unstressed condition. Thus blood may be removed from the vein through one lumen of the catheter, and blood may be returned to the vein through another lumen of the catheter, while the catheter is subject to long term indwelling in the body. Improved results are achieved because of the lack of mechanical stress in the shape of the catheter, which stress causes the catheter to press unduly against adjacent tissues.

A catheter delivery device for a self-expanding stent including a distal catheter component, a distal sheath disposed over the stent, a proximal catheter shaft defining a tube; a proximal sheath connected to the distal sheath defining a lumen containing the catheter shaft, an open distal end suitable to receive the proximal end of the distal catheter component side-by-side with the distal end of the catheter shaft and; a casing tube surrounding the catheter shaft having a distal end telescopically receiving the proximal end of the distal sheath.

The invention provides an endovascular intervention robot and an endovascular intervention system. The endovascular intervention robot comprises a base, a disc-shaped catheter bank, a catheter guide mechanism, a catheter conveying mechanism and a guide wire conveying mechanism, wherein the disc-shaped catheter bank is rotationally arranged on the base and is used for winding and storing a catheter; the catheter conveying mechanism is arranged on the base and is relatively positioned at the remote end of the disc-shaped catheter bank; the catheter conveying mechanism is used for conveying the catheter uncoiled from the disc-shaped catheter bank and is used for withdrawing the catheter into the disc-shaped catheter bank; the guide wire conveying mechanism is arranged on the base and is usedfor conveying and withdrawing a guide wire; and the guide wire conveying mechanism is connected with the near end of the catheter to enable the guide wire to penetrate into the catheter from the nearend of the catheter; the catheter guide mechanism comprises a driving part; and the driving part is rotationally arranged on the base and is synchronously rotated with the disc-shaped catheter bank todrive and change the extension direction of the catheter.