Apparatus and method for advancing catheters or other medical devices through a lumen

Inventors

Sardesai, Rajendra Gurudas • PANCHOLY, SAMIR BIPIN • Patel, Tejas Madhusudan

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

The disclosed invention relates to a method for intravascular treatment using a transporter catheter inside an outer catheter. A system is assembled including a transporter catheter having a shaft with at least one internal channel for a guidewire and an outer catheter having a cylindrical lumen. The outer catheter includes a cylindrical lumen with a second wall that is more flexible than the first wall of the transporter catheter, with the second wall thickness being less than the first wall thickness.

The transporter catheter extends within the cylindrical lumen of the outer catheter, and an anchoring balloon formed on the transporter catheter anchors the transporter catheter to at least a distal portion of the outer catheter. A distal orienting balloon formed on the distal end of the transporter catheter is inflated such that it engages the wall of the vessel and protrudes at least partially outside the distal end of the outer catheter to assist in maneuvering the outer catheter through the vasculature.

After anchoring balloon inflation and orienting balloon inflation, the system is advanced toward and to alignment with or beyond a treatment site by pushing and/or torqueing at least the transporter catheter along the guidewire. The orienting balloon is deflated and the anchoring balloon is deflated to remove the anchor between the transporter catheter and the outer catheter, after which the transporter catheter is removed from within the cylindrical lumen and a treatment system is advanced within the outer catheter to the treatment site or beyond it. A key concept is that the anchoring balloon is located proximate to the orienting balloon and acts as a stopper to prevent backing of the orienting balloon into the cylindrical lumen and to prevent full migration out of the outer catheter when an advancing force is applied.

Claims Coverage

Independent claims clm-00001 and clm-00024 each cover an intravascular treatment method using a transporter catheter inside an outer catheter, with inflatable anchoring and orienting balloons for positioning and advancing toward a treatment site. Across these claims, the coverage concentrates on five inventive features.

The independent claims collectively define an intravascular method where a transporter catheter inside a more flexible, thinner-walled outer catheter uses an inflatable anchoring balloon to anchor the transporter to the outer catheter and an inflatable distal orienting balloon to engage the vessel wall while protruding outside the outer catheter. The method advances the system by pushing and/or torqueing along a guidewire, then deflates balloons, removes the transporter catheter, and advances a treatment system inside the outer catheter. In the claim set including the stopper concept, the anchoring balloon is positioned proximate to the orienting balloon to prevent backing and full migration of the orienting balloon during maneuvering and advancing forces.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications