Devices, systems, and methods for delivering catheters or other medical devices to locations within a patients body

Inventors

Sardesai, Rajendra Gurudas • PANCHOLY, SAMIR BIPIN

Assignees

Vasoinnovations Inc

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods are disclosed that help deliver catheters or other medical devices to locations within a patient's body. The device comprises a transporter catheter having a proximal end and a distal end, at least a first balloon located at the distal end, substantially at a tip of the transporter catheter, and at least a second balloon located between the distal end and the proximal end of the transporter catheter. The first balloon is an orienting balloon and the second balloon is an anchor balloon. The transporter catheter may include a single lumen or more than one lumen. The transporter catheter may include a shaft comprising an inner layer and an outer layer, the inner layer may be made of a material more flexible than the material of the outer layer. The outer layer may also comprise a braided wire assembly, said braided wire assembly being formed by braiding a plurality of flat wires or circular wires. The braided wire assembly may wrap around the inner layer. The transporter catheter may comprise a shaft that may include a plurality of segments of varying degrees of hardness. The degree of hardness of the segment of the shaft of the transporter catheter located between the first balloon and the second balloon may be less than the degree of hardness of the segment of the shaft between the second balloon and the proximal end of the catheter.

Core Innovation

A transporter catheter system advances an outer catheter to a desired location in a patient's vasculature. The system includes a transporter catheter extending within a cylindrical lumen of the outer catheter, with the distal portion of the transporter catheter aligned with the distal portion of the outer catheter, and an anchoring balloon formed on the transporter catheter anchors the distal portion of the transporter catheter to at least the distal portion of the outer catheter while the outer catheter engages an inner surface of a vessel.

Advancement is performed by pushing and torqueing at least the transporter catheter along a guidewire towards the treatment site. The pushing and torqueing causes a pull force being applied to the outer catheter, where a first component pulls the outer catheter towards the desired location and a second component pulls a wall of the outer catheter away from a wall of the vessel, reducing a frictional drag between the outer catheter and the wall of the vessel.

In combination with anchoring, at least one orienting balloon formed on a distal end of the transporter catheter is inflated such that a surface of the orienting balloon engages an inner surface of the vessel. After advancing, the orienting balloon and the anchoring balloon are deflated to remove the anchor between the transporter catheter and the outer catheter, and the transporter catheter is removed from the cylindrical lumen of the outer catheter.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims cover intravascular methods that advance an outer catheter using a transporter catheter whose anchoring balloons create pull-force components that reduce frictional drag, with additional use of a guidewire, pushing and torqueing, and removal of the transporter catheter. Three inventive features are described across the claims.

Across the independent claims, the core claimed approach is anchoring a transporter catheter inside a cylindrical-lumen outer catheter to generate pull-force components during pushing and torqueing, including a second component that pulls the outer catheter wall away from the vessel wall to reduce frictional drag. The claims further recite balloon inflation and deflation, optional use of an orienting balloon engaging the inner surface of the vessel, and transporter-catheter differential flexibility increasing toward the distal end.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications