Medtronic Ave, Inc.

Bard Connaught

Medtronic Vascular, Inc.

Thomas K Fitzmaurice

Paul Gilson

Patrick J E Duane

Denyse M Collins

Patrick J Duane

Ronan Micheal Thornton

James Paul Gilson

The invention is a dilation catheter which comprises an elongated catheter shaft, a guide wire tube, and an angioplasty balloon. The distal end of the balloon is attached to the distal portion of the guide wire tube, and the proximal portion of the balloon is attached to the distal portion of the catheter shaft. A stiffening wire is attached to the inner wall of the catheter shaft at a plurality of points along its length. The distal extremity of the guide wire tube is decreased in size relative to the proximal portion of the guide wire tube. A fluid is contained within the guide wire lumen.

Reinforced monorail balloon catheter

A Balloon dilation catheter comprising an elongated tubular shaft and an inner tube defining inflation and guide wire lumens. A dilation balloon is mounted on the distal end of the tubular shaft and communicates with the inflation lumen. The guide wire lumen extends through the balloon. A stiffening wire is positioned within the tubular shaft and has a proximal end secured in the proximal portion of the catheter. The distal end of the stiffening wire is anchored within the inner tube in an area adjacent the guide wire entrance port. The stiffening wire maximizes strength to the proximal portion of the catheter while maintaining flexibility in the distal end of the catheter as well as the balloon.

Dilatation catheter with stiffening wire

Reinforced rapid exchange balloon catheter

An exchange accessory useful with monorail and other types of catheters has a hollow, elongated sleeve for insertion into a Tuohy-Borst connector or the like, and an enlarged head at its proximal end to restrain the sleeve from advancing with the catheter into the connector. The sleeve is slidably mounted on the catheter shaft so that it may be interposed between a sealing member within the connector and the catheter. The internal diameter of the sleeve is greater than and complementary with the external diameter of the catheter shaft to define a space about the catheter shaft sufficient to allow backbleed of blood therethrough in a controlled manner. In one embodiment, the sleeve has a slotted head to accommodate a guidewire which may extend in parallel to the catheter shaft, for example, when used with a monorail type catheter. The slot permits the guidewire to extend proximal to the connector without bending or kinking. In another embodiment, the exchange accessory may be assembled onto a conventional catheter shaft. As a modification to these embodiments, an aperture may be provided for selectively engaging the catheter by closing the connector on the sleeve with the aperture aligned with a sealing member of the connector.

Exchange accessory for use with a monorail catheter

Dilatation catheter with stiffening wire anchored in the vicinity of the

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Galway, Ireland

Thomas K Fitzmaurice