This invention relates generally to a wire guide for use in percutaneous interventional procedures, and more particularly, a method for making a wire guide that can be coupled to a previously introduced wire guide for assistance during interventional procedures in vessels with proximal tortuosity, or as a more substantial wire guide for angioplasty procedures, stenting procedures, and other device placement procedures and their related devices.
Wire guides are typically used to navigate the vasculature of a patient during intracorporeal procedures. Once the wire guide has been introduced, it may then be used to introduce one or more medical catheter devices. Many conventional wire guides are typically 0.014 inches in diameter and have a lubricous coating to enhance wire guide introduction movement. These conventional “floppy” wire guides have sufficient flexibility and torque control for navigation through tortuous vessels. In certain procedures or situations, it is desirable to enhance the conventional wire guide with a supplemental wire guide. The supplemental wire guide is placed alongside the conventional wire guide, for example, to straighten out the vessel curves and facilitate further wire guide movement. The supplemental wire guide provides additional support and enhances the tracking of balloons, stents, stent delivery devices, atherectomy devices, and other medical catheter devices. This technique is commonly referred to as the “Buddy Wire” technique, details of which are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/081,146, filed Mar. 16, 2005, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Several unique supplemental wire guides have been developed which are structured to be slidably coupled to a conventional wire guide (or any previously introduced wire guide) to provide easy and reliable navigation through the vasculature to a position proximate the previously introduced wire guide. These supplemental wire guides are commonly referred to as coupling wire guides or Buddy Wires. Exemplary coupling wire guides are disclosed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/711,102 filed Aug. 25, 2005; 60/711,261 filed Aug. 25, 2005; 60/763,511 filed Jan. 31, 2006; and 60/763,523 filed Jan. 31, 2006, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Although other variations exist, a coupling wire guide generally includes a separately formed tracking tip that is joined to a distal portion of the coupling wire guide and is configured to be slidably coupled to the conventional wire guide.
Typically, the tracking tip in a coupling wire guide is made from a nickel-titanium alloy, such as Nitinol, which has favorable properties of strength, light weight, superelasticity, and shape memory. Because Nitinol is somewhat expensive, its use in medical devices is often limited to where it is most needed. Thus, less expensive biocompatible metals, like stainless steel, are often utilized for less-critical elements. Unfortunately, one of the limitations associated with nickel-titanium alloys, such as Nitinol, is the difficulty in stably bonding it to other materials, such as stainless steel, that form the distal portion of the coupling wire. Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a coupling wire guide and a method for stable, reproducible bonding of a tracking tip to the coupling wire guide.
The present invention provides a coupling wire guide for coupling to a previously introduced wire guide that is more easily, reliably, and stably constructed. In one aspect, the coupling wire guide includes a mandrel connected to a tracking tip. The mandrel includes a distal portion, including first and second portions integral to the mandrel, whereby the second portion is wider in diameter compared to the first portion. The tracking tip includes a first tubular section and a second tubular section adapted to receive a previously introduced wire guide therein. The first tubular section is disposed over and bonded to the first and second portions. A coil may be attached to the distal portion upstream of the second portion. In a preferred embodiment, the second portion is a spherical structure at the terminal end of the mandrel, which is adhesively bonded to the inside of the first tubular section. Use of a medical grade adhesive in conjunction with the second portion has been surprisingly found to increase tensile joint strength and decrease tensile joint strength variability.
In another aspect, a method for forming the above described coupling wire guide includes disposing the first tubular section of the tracking tip over the distal portion of the wire guide and bonding the first tubular section to the first and second portions to form the coupling wire guide. In a preferred embodiment, a medical grade adhesive is applied to the second portion to facilitate a more secure, reproducible attachment to the tracking tip. As the adhesive becomes cured, the distal portion of the mandrel locks the mandrel into the tracking tip, thereby creating a secure joint between the main body and the tracking tip.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
Turning now to the drawings,
As shown in
In
As shown in
According to the present invention, the second portion 32 is configured for bonding to the inside of the proximal portion 42 of the tracking tip 40 to provide greater joint strength between the main body 22 and the tracking tip 40, as described in greater detail below. As shown in
In the embodiment shown in
An interconnecting portion 46 of the tracking tip 40 interconnects the proximal and coupling portions 42, 44. The interconnecting portion 46 is formed as a circumferentially winding strip 56 that provides flexibility to the tracking tip 40 and provides an opening or open area 58 for receiving the previously introduced wire guide. The open area 58 is in communication with the circular proximal opening 52 of the coupling portion 44 through which the distal end of the previously introduced wire guide passes. Specifically, the strip 56 follows a curved path between the proximal and coupling portions 42, 44, and preferably follows a helical path between the proximal and coupling portions 42, 44. In this manner, the interconnecting portion 46 provides a degree of flexibility to the tracking tip 40, while maintaining sufficient rigidity to securely link the proximal and coupling portions 42, 44.
Components of the tracking tip 40, including the interconnecting portion 46 or strip 56, may be symmetrically configured to facilitate bonding of the distal portion 26 of the main body 22 through either opening 50, 54 of the tracking tip 40.
The length of the wire guide 20 may range from about 40 cm to about 480 cm. More preferably the wire guide may range in length from about 125 cm to about 250 cm. In a preferred embodiment, the wire guide 20 is about 180 cm in length.
The wire guide 20 may be made from a variety of different material components differing in size and shape. In a preferred embodiment, the wire guide 20 includes a mandrel 28 having a diameter between from about 0.006 to about 0.014 inches; an outer coil having an inner diameter between about 0.006 to about 0.007 and an outer diameter between about 0.013 to about 0.014 inches; and/or a laser cut, electropolished cannula 40 having a 0.0028 inch wall thickness and a length from about 5.0 mm to about 10.0 mm. Preferably, the reduced diameter portion 29 of the mandrel 28 extends longitudinally from about 1.8 cm to about 6.9 cm, while the wound coil 30 extends longitudinally from about 3.0 cm to about 6.0 cm. Also, the first tubular member 48a of the tracking tip 40 preferably overlaps with the distal portion 26 of the main body by about 0.5 mm to about 2.5 mm.
The mandrel 28 is preferably formed from a flexible, elastic, bendable, kink-resistant, sterilizable, biocompatible material having sufficient flexibility to traverse a patient's vasculature. Preferred materials include Nitinol and stainless steel. The choice of material may depend on factors such as cost and degree of stiffness required. Nitinol is preferred for applications requiring more flexibility; stainless steel may be preferred for applications where greater stiffness is required.
In one embodiment, the mandrel 28 is constructed from a Nitinol wire. The Nitinol wire may be formed by drawing through dies and then ground, preferably using a center-less grinding technique. Alternatively, the mandrel may be formed from a thin spring tempered stainless steel material.
A variety of different sizes and types of mandrels known to those of skill in the art may be used. The mandrel 28 may have a substantially uniform diameter at the proximal end. Alternatively, as shown in
The outside diameter of the mandrel 28 may range from about 0.004 inches to about 0.04 inches. Preferably the outside diameter of the mandrel 28 ranges from 0.0025 inches to about 0.05 inches. More preferably the outside diameter of the mandrel ranges from about 0.005 inches to about 0.02 inches. In a particular embodiment the mandrel includes a substantially uniform diameter of about 0.0136 inches at the proximal end and a reduced diameter of about 0.0065 inches toward the distal end.
A proximal end of the coil 30 is joined to a distal portion of the mandrel 28 as illustrated in
The coil 30 may be radiopaque and made of stainless steel, platinum, platinum-nickel, iridium, palladium, tantalum, tungsten, or alloys thereof; nickel-titanium alloy, such as Nitinol; or any other suitable material known to those of skill in the art. The coil 30 also may be rendered more radiopaque by coating, for example, a stainless steel coil with gold or other known radiopaque marker materials as described below. Preferably, at least a portion of the coil 30 is made of a radiopaque metal to facilitate fluoroscopic imaging while inside a patient's body. The coil may be formed by drawing a wire though dies and pulling the wire across a stress-inducing surface to form a coil shape by or by winding the Nitinol wire around the mandrel 28 and then heat setting the Nitinol wire.
Radiopaque marker materials may be added to one or more components of the wire guide 20 to facilitate fluoroscopic imaging. In particular, radiopaque materials, fillers, marker bands or powders may be associated with one or more of the mandrel 28, coil 30, tracking tip 40, or any component part thereof. For example, a radiopaque marker may be incorporated into the tracking tip 40 by gold plating the terminal 1.0-1.5 mm of the coupling portion 44.
Exemplary radiopaque marker materials include but are not limited to, platinum, palladium, iridium, gold, tungsten, tantalum, tantalum powder, bismuth, bismuth oxychloride, barium, barium sulphate, iodine, alloys thereof, and the like. The radiopaque materials can be incorporated in the wire guide by a variety of common methods, such as adhesive bonding, lamination between two material layers, vapor deposition, including the materials and methods described in U.S. 2003/0206860, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The tracking tip 40 typically is formed from Nitinol, which can be formulated to provide superelasticity and/or shape memory. The tracking tip 40 preferably is constructed from a Nitinol cannula as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,759,487 and 4,852,790, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, the cannula may be constructed by drawing Nitinol stock seamlessly, or by drawing, rolling and welding. Preferably, the cannula is laser-cut to shape, electropolished and/or media-blasted and/or abrasive ground to the desired surface finish, and heat-treated to obtain the desired properties.
The Nitinol materials used in the present invention have an austenitic finish temperature (Af) less than body temperature and in the range of 0 to 35 degrees C. This provides sufficient structural integrity as well as a very fast recovery time from stress-induced deformation. The Af of the Nitinol materials may be below room temperature or it may be above room temperature and below body temperature. In a preferred embodiment, Af is between about 5-10 degrees C. (below room temperature) to provide a fully austenitic material both outside and inside the patient. In another preferred embodiment, Af is in the range of about 10-35 degrees C., to provide a partially austenitic material outside the patient to improve handling, while fully austenitic inside the patient.
As indicated above, the bonding of Nitinol to other materials presents unique and problematic manufacturing challenges. In one aspect, the present invention provides an improved method for bonding nickel-titanium-based materials. In particular, a medical grade adhesive 34 is preferably applied to the ball-shaped mandrel portion 32 of the mandrel 28 (see
A variety of medical grade adhesives may be used for bonding the mandrel 28 to the tracking tip 40. Preferably, the adhesive is a UV-curable adhesive designed for use in medical devices. Preferred UV-curable adhesives are solvent-free and cure upon exposure to UV light, visible light, and/or heat. To facilitate in-line quality control of adhesion, the adhesive may include suitable fluorescing agents or photoinitiators as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,450. Suitable adhesives are non-toxic in a cured state and pass the biocompatibility tests in accordance with USP Class VI and/or ISO 10993 biocompatibility certification status.
Exemplary UV-curable adhesives include acrylates, cyanoacrylates, urethanes, urethane (meth)acrylates, epoxies and the like. The choice of adhesive may depend on a variety of factors, such as the type of materials bonded, nature of the structures bonded, and desired cured properties, including durometer hardness, tensile at break, elongation at break etc. Preferred adhesives include the CTH-series adhesives from Dymax Corporation (Torrington, Conn.), including 203A-CTH, 204-CTH, 206-CTH, 207-CTH, and 208-CTH.
Medical grade adhesives represent a preferred agent for bonding a Nitinol tracking tip 40 to the distal end of a coupling wire guide 20 containing a second portion 32. Other means for bonding the second portion 32 to the tracking tip 40 may include soldering, welding or any other or any other bonding means known to those of skill in the art.
Of course, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that many different sizes and types of mandrels, coils, and tracking tips may be employed in conjunction with the present invention, including any of those disclosed in co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/711,102 filed Aug. 25, 2005; 60/711,261, filed Aug. 25, 2005; 60/763,511, filed Jan. 31, 2006; 60/763,523, filed Jan. 31, 2006; and 60/815,805, filed Jun. 22, 2006, all of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The coupling wire guide 20 of the present invention is typically coupled to a previously introduced wire guide outside of the patient's body. To help avoid confusion during percutaneous interventional procedures requiring multiple exchanges of wire guides, a further aspect of the present invention includes an identification section allowing a physician to readily distinguish between the proximal ends of the previously introduced wire guide(s) and the coupling wire guide of the present invention (
In
In an alternative embodiment, one or more portions of the mandrel are covered with an identifiable coating, preferably a lubricous polymer, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), which has a colorizing finish (such as bright yellow). The coating may be applied to any portion of the mandrel, including ground down portions thereof. Suitable coating materials for use in the present invention are disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/227,048, filed Aug. 23, 2002 and Ser. No. 10/831,740, filed Apr. 23, 2004, which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Tensile joint strengths of tracking tips bonded to a coiled Nitinol mandrel 28 with or without a second portion 32 according to
Surprisingly, the mean tensile strength of adhesively bonded joints in 41 samples of the first sample type was 17.3 Newtons (SD=0.9 N). By comparison, the mean tensile joint strength in 45 samples of the second sample type was 13.3 Newtons (SD=3.7 N). Thus, compared to ball-less soldering of coiled wire guide ends, weld ball/adhesive bonding resulted in a 30% increase in tensile joint strength (from 13.3 N to 17.3 N). In addition, variability in tensile joint strength dropped considerably, as evidenced by a 76% decrease in standard deviation (from 3.7 N to 0.9 N).
The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiments disclosed. Numerous modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.