The present invention relates to a flexible conductor carrier and a catheter equipped with such a conductor carrier according to the preamble of the claims.
Flexible catheters with conductors running along the inside of the catheters are known. Such a flexible catheter is described in WO2007139479. The document describes an elongated, rectangular flexible circuit board that is rolled to form a cylindrical element and constitutes the catheter. The cylindrical conductor is flexible but the electrical conductors on the printed circuit board may be broken or damaged if bent too sharply. In clinical situations, it is often necessary to bend a catheter, which can cause the conductor leads on the cylindrical multi-conductor to break.
One purpose of the invention is therefore to provide a flexible conductor carrier, which tolerates a greater degree of bending than prior art for such conductor carriers, and a catheter equipped with such a conductor carrier.
Another purpose of the invention is to provide a flexible conductor carrier, which has a greater degree of flexibility than prior art for such conductor carriers, and a catheter equipped with such a conductor carrier.
These and other purposes are achieved through a flexible conductor carrier for a catheter and a catheter equipped with such a conductor carrier in accordance with the characteristic features of the independent claims.
The invention relates to a flexible conductor carrier 5, 5a-b, 6, 7, at least one elongated inserted section 5, 5a-b, 6 intended to be arranged in a lumen 2a-b in a flexible catheter. The flexible conductor carrier is typically made of a flexible printed circuit board. The inserted section 5, 5a-b, 6 includes at least one flat section 5, 5a-b and one rolled section 6. The flat section offers the benefit of a higher tolerance to bending than its rolled counterpart. There typically exists at least one electrode 4a-b around the rolled section 6.
The flat section 5, 5a-b can in a particularly advantageous embodiment comprise two elongated sections that mostly extend parallel to each other, providing space for additional conductors and hence, for additional electrodes.
The invention relates to such a conductor carrier 5, 5a-b, 6, 7 where the inserted section 5, 5a-b, 6 includes several flat sections 5, 5a-b and rolled sections 6 in sequence, so that electrodes can be placed at a number of positions along the catheter with flexible, flat sections of conductor carriers between them.
The invention relates to a catheter equipped with such a conductor carrier 5, 5a-b, 6, 7.
Conductor carriers according to prior art consists of flat, rectangular pieces of flexible printed circuit rolled into a cylindrical shape and is fixed in this form by filling the cylinder with a flexible adhesive. Conductor carriers are very flexible when flat, but less flexible when rolled and copper conductors can be ripped off when bend sharply. During normal use, catheters are only bent moderately, which works well. However, a catheter can inadvertently be bent significantly, in which case the conductors on a conductor carrier of prior art can be damaged. In addition, catheters are frequently and deliberately bent sharply in order to cut off transfer of liquid or gas through the lumens, as illustrated in the figure. This can damage conductor carriers of prior art and this is one of the problems the conductor carrier of this invention solves. Another advantage is that the resultant catheter becomes more sufficiently flexible for use as a feeding tube, which is not always the case if the all parts of the internal catheter are rolled.
The risk of damage to the rolled section of the conductor carrier by excessive bending is eliminated by the conductor carrier being rolled only at sections where electrodes exist, with the rest of the conductor carrier is left flat.
The illustrated embodiments only show examples in which the conductor carrier includes one flat section and one rolled section that are inserted in the catheter. However, the conductor carrier may include a number of flat and rolled sections, depending on the length of the conductor carrier.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0901166-9 | Sep 2009 | SE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/SE2010/000187 | 7/1/2010 | WO | 00 | 3/8/2012 |