Patent Application
20080009799
The following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is merely illustrative in nature, and as such it does not limit in any way the present invention, its application, or uses. Numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.
A sleeve may be used on a balloon catheter for several purposes, including protecting, forming and shaping the balloon, and also to reduce the balloon profile.
A resilient protection sleeve has a generally tubular structure, with one or more tubular portions extending circumferentially between one or more wings that extend radially outward. The wings act as resilient clamps, to compress the tubular portions around a balloon of a catheter.
According to one example of the present invention, the drawings show a resilient protection sleeve 10 for use with a balloon catheter. The resilient protection sleeve 10 shown in the drawings has three tubular portions 12 and three wings 14. The tubular portions 12 each have an arcuate partial cylinder shape. The wings 14 each have a “U” shape that is narrowed at the junction between the the tubular portions 12 and the wings 14. Each wing extends radially outward, and each defines a channel 16.
The resilient protection sleeve 10 shown in the drawings is made of an integral and unitary piece of material, but it could be made of several components affixed together. Other possible arrangements of a resilient protection sleeve according to the principles of the present invention include providing a resilient protection sleeve having multiple layers of different materials, whether be coextrusion or any other suitable method. Also, it is possible to provide an inner surface of a resilient protection sleeve with a lubricious coating, for easy removal of the sleeve from the balloon catheter.
The balloon 22 has a central inflatable portion between a proximal collar and a distal collar, the collars each being affixed to the catheter shaft 20. The balloon 22 is shown in an initial configuration, such that it has been deflated, pleated and wrapped around the catheter shaft 20.
In the initial configuration, the resilient protection sleeve compresses and protects the balloon, as the wings resiliently clamp the tubular portions of the sleeve around the balloon. When a physician prepares the balloon catheter for use in a medical treatment, the wings may also act as handles, to facilitate removal of the sleeve from the balloon catheter.
Dimensionally, the sleeve has a longitudinal length corresponding to a longitudinal length of the balloon, such that the sleeve protects the full length of the balloon.
The balloon catheter of
Also, the balloon catheter systems of the present invention may include one or more additional medical device(s). For example,
The resilient protection sleeve may be made of any material having suitable properties, including polymers, including for example polycarbonates, polyamides, polyurethanes, nylons, polyethylenes, and polyesters. Also, any of the catheter components may be made of a multilayer construction or a coextrusion, or a blend or a block copolymer of such polymer materials.
It should be understood that an unlimited number of configuration for the present invention could be realized. The foregoing discussion describes merely exemplary embodiments illustrating the principles of the present invention, the scope of which is recited in the following claims. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from the description, claims and drawings that numerous changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
