Abstract: A blood vessel dilator so thin in outside dameter as the "on the wire" type catheter retaining a sufficiently wide liquid lumen and highly manipulatable at branched parts of blood vessels by a separately turnable guide wire and hence readily inserted even into narrow perpheral blood vessels.

Abstract: The catheter of the present invention comprises a body portion, a distal portion and an internal lumen and at least the above body portion includes a super-elastic metallic tube. This catheter has a high efficiency of transmitting the pushing force given at its proximal end (pushability) and a high torque transmission efficiency. Furthermore, since the body portion of the catheter includes a super-elastic metallic tube, the wall thickness of the body portion can be made sufficiently thin and a catheter with a smaller diameter can be formed.

Abstract: A catheter equipped with a dilatation element comprising, an inner tube having a first lumen open at the distal end, an outer tube which surrounds the inner tube so that a predetermined length of the distal end of the inner tube extends out of the distal end of the outer tube and a second lumen is formed between the outer surface and the inner tube, a foldable dilatation element which has the front and rear end portions attached to the inner tube and the outer tube respectively and whose internal space communicates with the second lumen, a first opening which communicates with the first lumen at the proximal end of the inner tube, and a second opening which communicates with the second lumen at the proximal end of the outer tube, and characterized in that a portion near the distal end of the outer tube is fixed to the inner tube without blocking the second lumen.

Abstract: A catheter guide wire is provided for guiding a catheter into a body cavity such as a blood vessel. The base material constituting the wire is made of an elastic alloy wire and subjected to a heat treatment such that its flexibility is sequentially increased from its proximal to distal end portions. A thermoplastic resin or/and a coil spring can be applied to at least the distal end portion of the wire base material. A method of manufacturing the catheter guide wire is also provided. The method is characterized in that the leading end side of the base material is divided into a plurality of areas and subjected to a heat treatment by changing the heat treatment temperature and the time conditions in units of the areas so that the flexibility of the base material is sequentially increased from the proximal to distal end portions of the leading end side.

Abstract: Disclosed are an instrument for expanding a tubular organ such as a blood vessel and for keeping the tubular organ expanded for a predetermined period of time, and a catheter for mounting said instrument at a desired position within the tubular organ, said catheter being capable of moving and recovering the instrument mounted within the tubular organ. The instrument is formed of a two-way shape memory alloy and expands or shrinks in the radial direction, in accordance with changes in temperature. At least one side hole is formed at the distal end portion of the catheter, on which the instrument is detachably mounted.

Abstract: There is provided a balloon catheter comprising a tubular body including at least one lumen, and a foldable balloon provided at a predetermined distal portion on the outer surface of said tubular body so that the balloon communicates with at least one lumen in said tubular body, wherein reinforcement is provided at a predetermined portion on the outer surface of said tubular body surrounded by said balloon. The reinforcement is preferably formed on an X-ray opague material and in the form of a coil.

Abstract: A catheter equipped with an expansible member comprising an inner tube having a first lumen whose tip is open and a second lumen extending to the tip direction of the first lumen; an outer tube disposed coaxially with the inner tube and having a tip at a position recessed by a predetermined distance from the tip of the inner tube and forming a third lumen between it and the outer surface of the inner tube; a contractible or foldable expansible member having a tip end portion and a base end portion, the base end portion being fitted to the outer tube and the tip end portion being fitted to the inner tube, the expansible member communicating with the second lumen near the tip end portion and with the third lumen near the base end portion; a first opening communicating with the first lumen and a second opening communicating with the second lumen each disposed at the base end portion of the inner tube; and a third opening disposed at the base end portion of the outer tube and communicating with the third lumen.

Abstract: A vasodilating catheter is disclosed which is characterized by using a triple-flow catheter tube and allowing two of the three flow paths formed by the catheter tube to communicate with a balloon. Owing to this configuration, the air entrapped inside the balloon can be easily removed and, as the result, the otherwise inevitable degradation of the balloon's opacitying property is precluded and the angioplasty is performed with increased safety and ease.

Abstract: A catheter for the repair of an injured blood vessel, characterized by comprising a multiple-lumen type catheter tube having at least two tubular cavities, at least one dilating member disposed in the distal portion of said catheter tube and adapted to communicate with one of said tubular cavities, a lateral hole for the injection of a blood coagulation accelerant disposed on said catheter tube at the proximal side than said dilating member side and adapted to communicate with the other tubular cavity, and a hub having a plurality of flow conduit communicating severally with said tubular cavities of said catheter tube and adapted to communicate with the proximal portion of said catheter tube.

Abstract: An intravascular catheter assembly which comprises:a flexible catheter tube whose proximal end is fixed to the distal end of a tubular hub of a catheter;a seal cap which is connected to the catheter hub with a flexible tube disposed between said seal cap and catheter hub and whose inner wall closely abuts against the outer wall of a cannula which guides the catheter through the blood vessel;a location bar which is fixed to a hub of the cannula and protrudes toward the distal end of the catheter; anda stopper which is mounted on the catheter hub to be engaged with the distal end of said location bar.

Abstract: An intravascular catheter, comprising a hub having at least one branched tube mounted thereto apart from each other in the axial direction of the hub, a flexible double-walled tube having an inwardly tapered tip portion and consisting of an inner tube and an outer tube coaxial with the inner tube, providing an annular passageway between the outer wall of the inner tube and the inner wall of the outer tube and a needle removably inserted into the inner tube of the double walled tube. Further, the inner passageway has an opening at the tapered tip of the double-walled tube and the forward end of the annular passageway communicates with a bore or bores provided at the forward end portion of the outer tube excluding an upper portion thereof as defined by 20 in FIG. 6.

Abstract: An intravascular catheter, comprising a hub having a pair of branched tubes mounted thereto apart from each other in the axial direction of the hub, a flexible double-walled tube having an inwardly tapered tip portion and consisting of an inner tube and an outer tube coaxial with the inner tube, and a needle removably inserted into the inner tube of the double walled tube. The base edge of the inner tube is located at an intermediate portion between the positions from which the pair of the branched tubes extend outward so as to enable the inner passageway formed in the inner tube to communicate with one of the branched tubes. The base edge of the outer tube is fixed to the tip of the hub so as to enable the annular passageway formed between the outer wall of the inner tube and the inner wall of the outer tube to communicate with the other branched tube.

Abstract: A catheter guide wire is provided for guiding a catheter into a body cavity such as a blood vessel. The base material constituting the wire is made of an elastic alloy wire and subjected to a heat treatment such that its flexibility is sequentially increased from its proximal to distal end portions. A thermoplastic resin or/and a coil spring can be applied to at least the distal end portion of the wire base material. A method of manufacturing the catheter guide wire is also provided. The method is characterized in that the leading end side of the base material is divided into a plurality of areas and subjected to a heat treatment by changing the heat treatment temperature and the time conditions in units of the areas so that the flexibility of the base material is sequentially increased from the proximal to distal end portions of the leading end side.