Dilatation Catheter with Enhanced Distal End for Crossing Occluded Lesions
A catheter for crossing an occluding lesion with an inflatable balloon and dilating the lesion includes an inner tube that defines a longitudinal axis. The balloon includes a distal section that is bonded to the tube's distal end, a working section, and a conically shaped distal transition section connecting the working and distal section. A plurality of rigid ribs are spaced around the circumference of the balloon near the catheter's distal end. Each rib includes a first elongated portion attached to the balloon's distal section and aligned substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis. A second portion extending from the first portion and at an angle thereto is attached to and lies along the surface of the balloon's distal transition section. The plurality of ribs combine to simulate a stiff, tapered surface that can be wedged into the occluding lesion to create a passageway to cross the lesion with the balloon.
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This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 10/340,406, filed Jan. 9, 2003.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to surgical instruments. More particularly, the present invention pertains to transluminal dilatation catheters for revascularization of an occluded conduit or connective duct. The present invention is particularly, though not exclusively, useful for crossing an occluding lesion in a vascular conduit with a dilatation balloon and subsequently dilating the lesion to restore blood flow through the conduit.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn coronary artery disease, the coronary arteries become narrow or blocked due to a gradual build-up of atherosclerotic plaque that affixes to the inner surface of the arterial wall. These lesions restrict the flow of blood through the diseased artery, and, if left untreated can result in complications that include acute myocardial infarction. The first percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was performed in 1977, and has become a common medical intervention to revascularize diseased arteries. In a typical PTCA procedure, a small dilatation balloon is positioned across a targeted lesion and inflated to increase the luminal diameter of the affected artery. Most of the improvement in luminal diameter following balloon angioplasty results from the stretching of the arterial wall by the balloon, however plaque compression, splitting and axially redistribution can also contribute to an increase in luminal diameter.
In a typical PTCA procedure, the diseased coronary artery is accessed from a peripheral artery such as the femoral and brachial arteries. From the peripheral artery, the distal end of the catheter must navigate through the curves and bends of a tortuous vascular tree to reach a targeted lesion in an affected artery. Typically, a guidewire is used to establish a mechanical pathway to the site of the lesion, allowing the catheter to track the guidewire from the peripheral artery to the targeted lesion. To successfully track the guidewire through the tortuous vasculature, a catheter having a relatively flexible distal portion is required. On the other hand, a rather stiff proximal portion is generally prescribed to provide the pushability needed to advance the catheter along the guidewire.
A traditional limitation of PTCA is the treatment of totally occluded arteries. As indicated above, the PTCA protocol requires the positioning of a dilatation balloon across the lesion and thus a passageway through the lesion is required. Conventional catheters designed with flexible distal portions for trackability lack the necessary stiffness to advance through an occluding lesion, and thus have been generally limited to the treatment of partially blocked arteries.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to a catheter for penetrating and dilating an occluding lesion within a vascular conduit of a patient. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a catheter having the ability to cross an occluding lesion and place a dilatation balloon into position to dilate the lesion. Structurally, the catheter includes a cylindrically shaped inner tube that extends from a distal end to a proximal end and defines a longitudinal axis. The inner tube is formed to surround an inflation lumen and a guidewire lumen, both of which pass between the inner tube's distal and proximal ends.
An inflatable balloon is mounted onto the inner tube at the distal end of the tube. For the present invention, the balloon extends from a balloon distal end to a balloon proximal end and generally includes five distinguishable sections therebetween. Starting at the distal end of the balloon, the balloon includes a distal section that is substantially cylindrical shaped and is sized to conform to the outer surface of the inner tube, allowing the distal section to be bonded to the inner tube. Proximal to this distal section, the balloon includes a distal transition section that is generally shaped as a truncated cone having a proximally increasing diameter. Continuing in the proximal direction, the balloon includes a working section that is provided to contact the lesion during dilation. Suitable shapes for the working section can include but are not limited to cylindrical and conical (i.e. a truncated cone having a proximally increasing diameter). The balloon further includes a cylindrical proximal section for bonding to the inner tube and a proximal transition section connecting the proximal transition section to the working section.
The balloon is attached to the inner tube to establish fluid communication between the balloon and the inflation lumen of the inner tube. With this cooperation of structure, an inflation fluid can be introduced into the proximal end of the inner tube at an extracorporeal location for delivery into the balloon. Pressurization of the balloon by the inflation fluid moves the balloon from the deflated configuration wherein the working section lies along the outer surface of the inner tube to an inflated configuration wherein the working section is radially distanced from the inner tube. Once inflated, the balloon can be deflated by drawing inflation fluid from the proximal end of the inner tube.
For the present invention, the distal end of the catheter includes a dilatation unit having a plurality of relatively short, spaced-apart ribs that combine to simulate a stiff, tapered surface that can be wedged into an occluding lesion to create a passageway through the lesion. The passageway can then be used to cross the lesion with the inflatable balloon. In greater structural detail, each rib includes a first elongated portion and a second elongated portion extending from the first portion and at an angle, α, thereto. The first portion of the rib is attached to the cylindrical distal section of the balloon and aligned to be substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis. The second portion of the rib is attached to and lies along the surface of the conically shaped distal transition section of the balloon. In this manner, the plurality of stiffening ribs (typically 8-10 ribs) are attached to the balloon and evenly spaced around the circumference of the balloon.
As indicated above, the spaced-apart ribs combine to simulate a stiff, tapered surface that is established regardless of whether the balloon is inflated or deflated. In greater detail, each rib is made of a rigid material such as Liquid Crystal Polymer, Polyphenylene Sulfide or Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) or other applicable polymers or materials. When attached to the balloon, the distal end of each rigid rib is radially distanced from the longitudinal axis at a distance d.sub.1 that is only slightly larger than the diameter of the inner tube. On the other hand, due to the angle, α1 between rib portions, the proximal end of each rigid rib is radially distanced from the longitudinal axis at a distance d2, with d2>d1. This cooperation of structure creates the simulated tapered surface that can be wedged into an occluding lesion to create a passageway.
In operation, a peripheral artery, such as the femoral artery is first pierced to provide access to the vascular tree and a sheath is positioned within the artery. Next, a guidewire is inserted into the peripheral artery, navigated through the vasculature and poked through the targeted occluding lesion. With the guidewire in place, the dilatation balloon is deflated and the distal end of the catheter is threaded onto the guidewire. Next, the distal end of the catheter is inserted into the peripheral artery and pushed through the vasculature with the distal end of the catheter tracking the guidewire until the ribs contact the targeted occluding lesion. Next, the catheter is axially advanced to wedge the simulated tapered surface created by the ribs into the lesion and establish a passageway through the lesion surrounding the guidewire. If desired, the distal end of the catheter can be axially reciprocated back and forth to drive the ribs into the lesion and create the required passageway. Alternatively, the balloon can be partially inflated to assist in the creation of the passageway.
Once the lesion has been crossed, the working section of the balloon can be positioned to dilate the lesion. With the working section of the balloon positioned across the lesion, the balloon can be distended to dilate the lesion and restore blood flow to the affected vascular conduit. After the lesion has been dilated, the balloon can be deflated to thereby allow the catheter to be moved for treatment of another lesion or withdrawn from the patient's body.
The novel features of this invention, as well as the invention itself, both as to its structure and its operation, will be best understood from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which:
Referring initially to
Referring now to
As best seen in
Continuing with reference to
Suitable materials for the ribs 24 include but are not limited to Liquid Crystal Polymer, Polyphenylene Sulfide and Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) or other applicable polymers or materials. Suitable manufacturing methods for attaching each rib 24 to the balloon 14 include, but are not limited to heat bonding, bonding using a suitable adhesive, and extrusion of the ribs onto a balloon preform using an intermittent extrusion head followed by conventional balloon blowing techniques.
OPERATIONTo use the catheter 10 of the present invention, access to the vasculature is obtained by piercing an opening in a peripheral artery, such as the femoral artery (see
Next, as shown in
While the particular apparatus and methods as herein shown and disclosed in detail are fully capable of obtaining the objects and providing the advantages herein before stated, it is to be understood that they are merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as described in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A catheter, the catheter comprising
- a first shaft;
- a balloon, the balloon having a deflated state and an inflated state, the balloon comprising: a distal section, the distal section being substantially cylindrically shaped when the balloon is in the deflated state and when the balloon is in the inflated state, the distal section being engaged to the first shaft; a distal transition section, the distal transition section being a truncated cone when the balloon is in the deflated state and when the balloon is in the inflated state; and at least one rib, each rib comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being engaged to the distal section of the balloon and the second portion being engaged to the distal transition section of the balloon.
2. The catheter of claim 1, the distal section of the balloon having a diameter, the diameter being the same when the balloon is in the deflated state and when the balloon is in the inflated state.
3. The catheter of claim 1, the first shaft having a longitudinal axis, wherein the first portion is aligned substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis and the second portion extends from the first portion and at an angle thereto.
4. The catheter of claim 3, wherein the angle is between approximately fifteen degrees and forty-five degrees (15°-45°).
5. The catheter of claim 1, the first shaft having a longitudinal axis, each rib further comprising a first end and a second end, the first end being radially distanced from the longitudinal axis at a first distance d1 and the second end being radially distanced from the longitudinal axis at a second distance d2 with d2>d1.
6. The catheter of claim 1, wherein each rib is made of a material selected from the group of materials consisting of Liquid Crystal Polymer, Polyphenylene Sulfide and Polyethylene Naphthalate.
7. The catheter of claim 1, each rib being engaged to the balloon by heat bonding.
8. The catheter of claim 1, each rib being engaged to the balloon by an adhesive.
9. The catheter of claim 1, wherein material forming each rib is extruded onto the distal section and the distal transition section of the balloon thereby engaging the rib to the distal section and the distal transition section of the balloon.
10. The catheter of claim 1, the at least one rib being a plurality of ribs.
11. The catheter of claim 10, the plurality of ribs being evenly spaced around a circumference of the balloon.
12. The catheter of claim 11, the plurality of ribs forming a tapered surface of the balloon at all times.
13. The catheter of claim 1, the balloon further comprising a working section, the distal transition section connecting the working section to the distal section, the working section having a shape, the shape being either cylindrical or a truncated cone when the balloon is in the inflated state.
14. The catheter of claim 13, further comprising a proximal transition section and a proximal section, the proximal transition section connecting the working section to the proximal section, the proximal transition section being a truncated cone when the balloon is in the inflated state, and the proximal section being substantially cylindrical when the balloon is in the deflated state and the inflated state.
15. The catheter of claim 14, the proximal section being engaged to the first shaft.
16. The catheter of claim 1, the first shaft defining a lumen, the catheter further comprising a guidewire, the guidewire being positioned within the lumen defined by the first shaft.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 23, 2010
Publication Date: Nov 11, 2010
Applicant: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. (Maple Grove, MN)
Inventors: Richard Goodin (Blaine, MN), Robert E. Burgmeier (Plymouth, MN)
Application Number: 12/842,825
International Classification: A61M 29/02 (20060101);