Devices for Vascular Intervention, Inc.

William Earl Webler

Charles F Milo

Fred H Co

A flexible composite drive shaft used with a flexible vascular atherectomy catheter for connecting a proximal rotating drive member and a distal rotatable working member. The flexible composite drive shaft includes a core of specially selected highly elastic shape memory alloy surrounded by a flexible torsional reinforcing helical wound member and a covering of a smooth polymeric material penetrating the interstices between the wound member and the outer surface of the core. The material of the core, the relative winding direction of the reinforcing member and the direction of angular offset between the reinforcing member and the core are selected to optimize the consistency of the rotational characteristics of the drive shaft in use. The cooperation between the shape memory elastic core, the helical reinforcing member and the interpenetrating polymer provides a composite drive shaft which has improved resistance to kinking and binding failure while traversing tight radii, narrow blood vessel pathways during axial translation and high speed rotational operation.

Growing community of inventors

Newark, CA, United States of America

William Earl Webler