Medtronic Ave, Inc.

Angioscore, Inc.

Medtronic Percusurge, Inc.

Jeffrey Bleam

Ketan P Muni

Celso J Bagaoisan

Isaac J Kim

Gholam-Reza Zadno-Azizi

Jeffrey F Field

April A Marano-Ford

Peter E Wagner

Meir Moffarah

An angioplasty catheter comprises a catheter body having a balloon or other radially expandable shell at its distal end. An external structure is carried over the shell and scores a stenosed region in a blood vessel when the balloon is inflated therein. The catheter has an attachment structure disposed between the catheter body and the balloon to accommodate foreshortening and rotation of the external structure as the balloon is expanded. The external structure may be part of a helical cage structure which floats over the balloon. Stabilizing struts are provided between at least some of the helical struts.

Balloon catheter with non-deployable stent having improved stability

Disclosed herein is an improved core wire for use in a medical catheter. In one aspect, a tapering core wire is incorporated into the distal end of a catheter. The catheter has a tubular body. Both ends of an inflatable balloon are mounted to the tubular body. The core wire extends from the distal end of the tubular body. In one embodiment, substantially all of the taper of the core wire occurs in the extending portion of the core wire over a length of at least 15 mm but no more than 60 mm. In another aspect, a core wire with a shapeable tip and method of manufacturing the same are provided. A core wire previously made superelastic is subject to additional processing to remove its superelasticity thereby allowing the material to be shapeable to aid in advancing the core wire through a blood vessel or other body cavities. In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for securing the core wire to the distal end of an elongated catheter tubular body. The tubular body is mechanically crimped onto the core wire to secure the core wire in place. This crimping method has been found to increase the strength of the bond between the core wire and the catheter tube so that greater pull force is required to break the core wire off from the catheter.

Catheter core wire

Disclosed herein is a low profile catheter valve comprising a movable sealer portion positioned within the inflation lumen of a catheter. The sealer portion forms a fluid tight seal with the inflation lumen by firmly contacting the entire circumference of a section of the inflation lumen. The sealer portion may be positioned proximally of a side-access inflation port on the catheter, to establish an unrestricted fluid pathway between the inflation port and an inflatable balloon on the distal end of the catheter. As desired, the clinician may move the sealer portion to a position distal of the inflation port, thereby preventing any fluid from being introduced into or withdrawn from the balloon via the inflation port.

Low profile catheter valve

Growing community of inventors

Boulder Creek, CA, United States of America

Jeffrey Bleam