Self-adjusting catheter

Abstract

Catheters and uses of same are described. The catheter may be an aspiration or distal access catheter used to treat stroke or other neurovascular conditions and may include a proximal segment and a distal segment with fixed shapes and outer diameters, and a distensible segment that is located proximal to the distal segment and adjacent to the catheter distal end and that is configured to undergo a conformation change when the catheter open distal end is lodged against the wall of a human blood vessel and a surgeon is attempting to move the catheter distally through the human blood vessel. The catheter may include a wall that is comprised of an inner tube surrounding the catheter's hollow interior, a coil surrounding the inner tube, a braid surrounding the coil and/or an outer tube surrounding the braid. The pitch of the coil may be greater in the distensible segment as compared to the proximal segment and the outer tube may not be attached to the inner tube for at least a portion of the distensible segment, which features allow for the distensible segment to undergo the conformational change. The distal segment may include a metallic marker band, providing rigidity to the distal segment.