Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshinobu Ishida

Yousuke Moriuchi

Tadashi Kousai

Takashi Kaneko

Akira Mochizuki

Fumiaki Harada

Takatomo Hisamatsu

Hideki Nakamura

Susumu Tanabe

Takao Yoshida

Hiromichi Tanioka

Michihiro Sugahara

A probe for insertion into a living body includes a sheath configured to be inserted into a living body, and a shaft positioned in the sheath. The shaft includes a tip portion configured to obtain diagnostic data at a distal portion thereof. The sheath includes a resin layer or a metal layer of at least one layer, and wherein the resin layer or the metal layer includes a spiral-shaped slit which is continuous from a distal portion to a proximal portion. The spiral-shaped slit includes a distal slit portion having the highest slit density, a middle slit portion which is continuous with the distal slit portion and which also has a lower slit density than the distal slit portion, and a proximal slit portion which is continuous with the middle slit portion and which also has a higher slit density than the middle slit portion.

Probe for insertion into a living body

A dilatation catheter has a tubular proximal shaft having relatively high rigidity, a tubular distal shaft having rigidity lower than that of the proximal shaft, a tubular intermediate section interposed between the proximal shaft and the distal shaft, a hub mounted on the proximal end portion of the proximal shaft, a balloon arranged on the distal end portion of the distal shaft so as to be in fluid communication with the distal shaft, and an inner shaft into which a guide wire can be inserted. The distal end portion of the proximal shaft can be inserted into the intermediate section to form an insertion portion having a spiral slit.

Catheter

A catheter includes a tubular proximal shaft having relatively high rigidity, a tubular distal shaft having rigidity lower than that of the proximal shaft, a tubular intermediate section disposed between the proximal shaft and the distal shaft, a hub arranged near a proximal end of the proximal shaft, a balloon provided to a distal portion of the distal shaft to be in fluid communication, and a guide wire lumen having a distal aperture located on a distal end side of the distal end of the balloon and a proximal aperture located on a proximal end side of the proximal end of the balloon, through which a guide wire is inserted, wherein a reinforcing member consisting of a braided member made of at least one linear member, is embedded in the intermediate section. The catheter is capable of effectively avoiding kink caused by heavy concentration of flexural stress.

Catheter tube 2 has a multiple of small bead-like projections 21 formed on the inner surface. The inner surface of the tube 2 comprises projections 21 and flat areas 22. A guide wire inserted into the lumen 5 of the tube 2 contacts its inner surface only at the projections 21. The catheter tube 2 has the inner surface embossed in such a way that the guide wire can be manipulated with high efficiency even if the diameter of the tube is very small.

Catheter tube and a method of processing the inner surface of a tube

A catheter balloon having a base layer formed of a high-strength polymer and one or more covering layers formed over at least one surface of said base layer of the same flexible polymer or different flexible polymers having a elongation at break close to that of said high-strength polymer and being more flexible than said high-strength polymer, and has a wall thickness of 25 .mu.m or thinner. A balloon having a base layer formed of a high-strength polymer and one or more covering layers formed over at least one surface of said base layer of the same flexible polymer or different flexible polymers more flexible than said high-strength polymer, and has a wall thickness of 25 .mu.m or thinner, said covering layer or covering layers together bearing 10% or more part of the bursting stress of the balloon. A balloon catheter, especially blood vessel dilating catheter, equipped with any of the above balloons.

Catheter balloon and balloon catheter

A connector has an instrument insertion passage which is provided with a seal member made from an elastic member formed with a seal member passage having a narrowed portion. When a knob is grasped and turned clockwise to turn a control body, the control body is forced into the connector and abuts the seal member causing the seal member to deform so as to reduce the inner diameter of the narrowed portion of the seal member, thereby enabling an instrument to be held by the narrowed portion in a fluid-tight manner which allows the instrument to be slidable through the connector. Also, by turning the control body further into the connector, the deformation of the seal member can be increased to cause the narrowed portion to fix the instrument in place in a manner that prevents the instrument from being slid through the connector 1.

Connector

A balloon catheter having a balloon which is produced by molding polyarylenesulfide or an alloy thereof wherein polyarylenesulfide is a main constituent, and the balloon is provided with excellent dimensional stability as well as sufficient softness and flexibility, leading to an improved trackability of the catheter to reach the target lesion.

Balloon catheters containing molded polyarylenesulfide material

A balloon for a blood vessel-dilating catheter is fabricated from a biaxially oriented film of an aromatic polyamide or an alloy thereof. The balloon has a calculated modulus of elasticity of from 70 to 190 kg/mm.sup.2. When the balloon is fabricated from an alloy of an aromatic polyamide, the alloy may contain up to 50% by weight of an aliphatic polyamide. The balloon of the invention is soft and flexible as well as dimensionally stable. Therefore, the balloon catheter has a high trackability, and may be inserted into the blood vessel without inducing any injury in the inner surface of the blood vessel. The balloon of the invention also has a good blood compatibility.

Balloon for blood vessel-dilating catheter

An inner diameter retaining instrument for holding a predetermined expansion state of the lumen of a tubular organ such as a blood vessel, a digestive tract, or a windpipe is disclosed. This instrument is formed into a cylindrical shape or substantially cylindrical shape by a unidirectional shape memory alloy. The outer diameter of the cylindrical body at its transformation temperature (e.g., a temperature higher than a body temperature) is set to be smaller than the inner diameter of a tubular organ in which the cylindrical body is introduced. The instrument can be deformed to be radially expanded at, e.g., the body temperature or lower. As a cylindrical shape, a coil-like shape, a shape having a spiral section, a shape having a slit in its longitudinal direction, or a mesh-like shape can be arbitrarily selected.

Instrument for retaining inner diameter of tubular organ lumen

Expansion unit and apparatus for expanding tubular organ lumen

Balloon catheter assembly

An extruder apparatus for molding a tube used for guiding a rod-like medical instrument into a living body. The resulting tubular body is made of a synthetic resin and has a longitudinal hollow portion to permit the passage of the rod-like medical instrument. The whole of the tubular body is formed to have a chemical uniformity, but at least one brittle portion such as a weld line is longitudinally formed over the entire length (or almost the entire length except the tip portion) of the tubular body. The brittle portion is formed by a die including a nozzle having a resin flow passageway of annular cross section. At least one baffle extends radially into the passageway for substantially temporarily splitting the flow which is then recombined to form the brittle portion.

Extrusion apparatus for molding guiding tube for medical instruments

A method of firmly securing a catheter body to a surface portion of human skin, without causing the catheter body to be bent or reducing the diameter of the inner passage of the catheter body. This method employs a catheter-securing member which comprises a cylindrical body for allowing the catheter body to be slidably inserted therein, and a slit is provided along the axial direction of the cylindrical body. In this method a ligature is first pierced through a surface portion of human skin and tied over the surface of human skin, leaving a pair of free end portions extending out of the skin, and then the cylindrical body is secured with the free end portions of the ligature by winding the ligature around the cylindrical body and fastening them.

Method of securing a catheter body to a human skin surface

Medical instrument introduction cannula, which is useful as a guide means for introducing and indwelling a rod-like material instrument such as a catheter and a guide wire. This cannula is removed after use from the medical instrument by being splitted. This cannula is formed of a hollow tubular body having a strip member consisting of a material different from the other portion of the tubular body, which extends over the entire or almost the entire length of the tubular body. The strip member has a weld line along the length of the strip member, or consists of a resin which exhibits a good bonding property only to one of the other components forming the tubular body. The tubular body can be splitted by way of the weld line or the removal of the strip member having such a bonding property. The method of manufacturing the medical instrument introduction cannular by a two-color extruder is also disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Fujinomiya, Japan

Toshinobu Ishida