Vascular Re-entry Catheter
A catheter has a guide-tip including at least one wing for crossing a CTO lesion in an artery via exploring the subintimal space. The catheter can includes one or more exit port(s) and radiopaque marker(s) for steering a re-entry wire through one of the exit ports. The catheter may include a number of spiral-cut sections with varying characteristics to provide different strength and flexibility along the axial direction.
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 62/050,456, filed Sep. 15, 2014, and to U.S. provisional application No. 62/060,152, filed Oct. 6, 2014, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUNDChronic Total Occlusion (“CTO”) is a complete or near complete blockage of a blood vessel, such as a coronary artery. As many as 30% of the patients with coronary artery disease have CTOs somewhere through the left or right arterial system. Traditionally CTO has usually been treated by a bypass procedure where an autologous or synthetic blood vessel is anastomotically attached to locations on the blood vessel upstream and downstream of the occlusion. While effective, such bypass procedures are quite traumatic to the patient.
Recently, catheter-based intravascular procedures have been developed to treat CTO with improved success rates. Such procedures include angioplasty, atherectomy, stenting, and the like, and the catheters are usually introduced percutaneously. Treatment of CTO percutaneously significantly reduces the need for surgery (coronary artery bypass graft—CABG). Moreover, CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can result in symptomatic relief for the patient, re-establishing coronary blood flow, improved left ventricular function and potentially, survival advantage. Peripheral vascular occlusions outside of the coronary vascular anatomy are also treatable with such interventions.
Before such catheter-based treatments can be performed, it is usually necessary to cross the occlusion with a guidewire to provide access for the interventional catheter. Available techniques for crossing the occlusion generally fall into two approaches: the antegrade approach, which involves crossing a wire from the proximal end to the distal end of the occlusion (either through the CTO directly or through the subintimal space), and the retrograde approach, which refers to CTO access of the distal cap via collateral vessels. The latter is usually reserved as a second line strategy for failed intimal antegrade crossing.
For treating CTO by PCI with antegrade access, a number of different devices have been developed, including the CrossBoss™ and Stingray™ systems. See http://www.bostonscientific.com/en-US/medical-specialties/interventional-cardiology/procedures-and-treatments/corona-chronic-total-occlusion-system.html (last accessed Sep. 10, 2015); see also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,632,556, 8,202,246, 8,636,712, 8,721,675, 6,511,458.
The CrossBoss™ catheter can be first used to facilitate the crossing a CTO as simply bluntly dissecting via small micro channels within the vessel through the occlusion or if this is not successful in crossing, the device can navigate from the subintimal space of a vascular wall. As an illustration,
The Stingray™ catheter, Stingray™ Guidewire can be used subsequent to the CrossBoss™ catheter to facilitate orienting and steering a guidewire or reentry device from the subintimal space into the true lumen of an artery. As an illustration,
The CrossBoss™ catheter can be used to pass through the proximal cap of a CTO by rotation of the blunt tip. However, if this is not successful, a procedure employing both the CrossBoss™ and Stingray™ catheters to cross the CTO would be needed. The procedure can be generally described as follows.
(1) advancing the CrossBoss™ catheter over a guidewire to an interface between the catheter distal tip and surrounding tissue;
(2) penetrating the catheter tip into the vascular wall and advancing the CrossBoss™ device within the vascular wall to establish a channel in the subintimal space of the vascular wall such that the tip extends longitudinally across the occlusion;
(3) withdrawing the CrossBoss™ catheter over the guidewire;
(4) advancing the Stingray™ catheter over the guidewire;
(5) inflating the balloon of the Stingray™ catheter to cause the Stingray™ balloon to assume one of two orientations;
(6) withdrawing the guidewire from the Stingray™ catheter;
(7) advancing a reentry device having a pre-configured tip portion in a compressed state into the lumen of the Stingray™ catheter; and
(8) manipulating the tip of the reentry device with the aid of radiographic visualization such that the tip of the reentry device exits from one side port of the Stingray™ catheter in a natural state and into the lumen of the artery (true lumen).
The Stingray™ catheter can then be withdrawn, leaving the reentry device in place which establishes a pathway from the proximal segment of the vascular lumen and the distal segment of the vascular lumen, over which a balloon catheter can be subsequently introduced and deployed at the site of the CTO. A stent can be further implanted at the site which has been expanded by the balloon.
While the above procedure of subintimal crossing using a combination of CrossBoss™ and Stingray™ catheters overcame certain difficulties of previous generation techniques in direct antegrade CTO access, the procedure is complex and time-consuming. Furthermore, switching from CrossBoss™ to Stingray™ can introduce unintended errors. For example, withdrawing the CrossBoss™ catheter from the guidewire (so that the Stingray™ catheter may be introduced over the guidewire) may cause the guidewire to shift position in the subintimal space, or worse, to retract from the subintimal space, in which case the operator would not be able to properly introduce the Stingray™ catheter over the guidewire into the subintimal space. As a result, the previous step of using CrossBoss™ catheter to cross the subintimal space would need to be repeated. Additionally, advancing and inflating the distal balloon of the Stingray™ catheter in the subintimal space can create excessive delamination and substantial trauma in the layers of the vascular wall.
It would be desirable to provide devices and methods for treatment of vascular conditions associated by crossing a CTO in a blood vessel by exploring the subintimal space in a more simplified procedure with reduced error rate and reduced trauma to the blood vessel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one aspect, the present invention provides a catheter device. The catheter device includes a distal catheter tube portion having a longitudinal axis and including a tube wall comprising at least one side port, at least one radiopaque marker, and at least one wing protruding radially outward from the tube wall.
In some embodiments, the tube wall includes two wings protruding radially outward in diametrically opposing directions. In certain of these embodiments, wherein the at least one side port is radially offset from each of the two wings for about 90 degrees. In specific embodiments, the first side port and the second side port are radially offset for about 180° degrees from each other.
In some embodiments, the at least one side port is beveled.
In some embodiments, the catheter device includes a radiopaque marker affixed on the distal catheter tube portion in axial alignment with the at least one side port. In other embodiments, the catheter device includes a radiopaque marker encircling the at least one side port.
In some embodiments, the tube wall includes a first side port and a second side port which is longitudinally and radially offset from the first side port, the second side port being located distal the first side port. In certain of these embodiments, the tube wall comprises a first radiopaque marker located longitudinally between the first side port and the second side port, and a second radiopaque marker distal the second side port.
In some embodiments, the at least one wing is part of a guide-tip engaging a distal end of the catheter. In other embodiments, the at least one wing can be placed in a distance from the distal end of the catheter.
In some embodiments, the catheter device includes at least one spiral-cut section, and the at least one side port is located in the spiral-cut section.
In certain embodiments, the catheter device includes at least two spiral-cut sections having different pitches.
In some embodiments, the catheter device includes at least one spiral-cut section with interrupted spirals.
In certain embodiments, the catheter device includes at least two interrupted spiral-cut sections having different pitches.
The at least one wing can be formed from a polymeric material, a metal, or a composite material.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for facilitating treatment of an occlusion in a blood vessel with a catheter device as described herein. The blood vessel has a vascular wall defining a vascular lumen containing an occlusion therein. The occlusion separates the vascular lumen into a proximal segment and a distal segment. The catheter device has a lumen and includes a distal catheter tube portion including a tube wall comprising at least one side port and at least one radiopaque marker, and a guide-tip located at a distal end of the catheter, where the guide-tip includes at least two wings protruding radially outward in diametrically opposing directions. The method includes: positioning the catheter device proximate the occlusion; advancing the guide-tip within the vascular wall adjacent the occlusion until the at least one side port is positioned distal of the occlusion to establish a channel in the vascular wall extending longitudinally across the occlusion; orienting the at least one side port toward the vascular lumen; inserting a re-entry device through the lumen of the catheter device wherein the re-entry device has a distal end portion in a compressed state; and manipulating the re-entry device such that a distal end portion of the re-entry device exits, in a natural state, from the at least one side port into the distal segment of the vascular lumen.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a catheter device (or catheter). The catheter can be used for the treatment of CTO, either by passing the CTO directly, or by passing the CTO via the subintimal space. In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for treating CTO.
As illustrated in
When two wings are present, they can be radially separated or offset by an angle of about 30 to about 90 degrees, or from about 90 to about 180 degrees or any fraction in-between. For example, the angle can be about 30 degrees, about 60 degrees, about 90 degrees, about 120 degrees, about 150 degrees or about 180 degrees. As shown in
As shown in
In certain embodiments, the guide-tip 3 with wings 8a and 8b may be positioned slightly away from the distal end 101 of the tube portion 11, e.g., at a distance dw ranging from about 1 to about 100 mm (see
In certain embodiments, one or more wings can be directly joined to the tube without being supported by a base portion of a tip, e.g., at the distal end 101, and/or away from the distal end 101. As illustrated in
Depending on the material as well as the structural requirements in terms of flexibility, the thickness of the tube wall 10 can vary, e.g., from about 0.002 inch to about 0.02 inch, or from about 0.05 mm to 2 mm, e.g., 0.05 mm to about 1 mm, about 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.0 mm, etc. The inner diameter of the lumen (ID) of the distal tube portion 11 can vary, e.g., from about 0.01 inch to about 0.04 inch, or from about 0.1 mm to about 2 mm, or from about 0.25 mm to about 1 mm, e.g., about 0.2 mm, about 0.3 mm, about 0.4 mm, about 0.5 mm, about 0.6 mm, about 0.7 mm, about 0.8 mm, about 0.9 mm, about 1 mm, etc. The outer diameter of the lumen (OD) of the distal tube portion can also vary, e.g., from about 0.2 mm to about 3 mm, e.g., about 0.2 mm, about 0.3 mm, about 0.4 mm, about 0.5 mm, about 0.6 mm, about 0.7 mm, about 0.8 mm, about 0.9 mm, about 1 mm, about 1.1 mm, about 1.2 mm, about 1.3 mm, about 1.4 mm, about 1.5 mm, about 1.6 mm, about 1.7 mm, about 1.8 mm, about 1.9 mm, about 2.0 mm, etc. The thickness of the tube wall, the inner diameter ID and the outer diameter OD can each be constant throughout the length of the catheter, or vary along the length of the catheter.
In certain embodiments, the height of the wings Hw can range from about 5%-about 50% (including about 10% to about 40%, about 15% to about 30%, or about 20%) of the outer diameter ODt of the tip 3; alternatively, the height of the wings Hw can be about 10% to about 15%, about 15% to about 30%, or about 5% to about 45% of ODt. In some embodiments, the base width of the wings Wb can be about 5%-30% of the outer diameter ODt of the tip 3. The axial length of the base of the wings can be approximately the same as the axial length Lt of the guide-tip 3 (see
The tube wall 10 and guide-tip 3 may be formed from a metal, a polymer or a composite material. Suitable metals can include cobalt-chromium, stainless steel, MP35N, nickel titanium, etc., as well as metal alloy such as a shape memory material, e.g., Nitinol. Alternatively, the tube wall may be composed of polymers such as aliphatic polyether-urethanes, polyamides, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene or mixtures of polymers. The tube wall distal tube portion may also be formed from a composite of polymers and metal, such as a composition of joined or abutted metal and polymer forming a generally tube like structure. The distal catheter tube portion can be formed from metal, e.g., stainless steel. The guide-tip 3 and/or the wings 8a/8b can be made of the same material as the tube wall or different materials. For example, the guide-tip may include a radiopaque material such as a radiopaque filler composition. The guide-tip may include metal and a softer outer component such as a polymer varying in udometer from soft rubber like materials to hard composite polymer or plastics. Also, the wings may be made from the same or different material as the remainder of the guide-tip. For example, the wings may be formed from a polymeric material, a shape memory material such as Nitinol, or a metal such as cobalt chromium.
The peripheral contour of the wings along the axial direction can be generally convex in shape, e.g., in the shape of a smooth elliptical curve (see FIG. 2A/2C/3A/3C). In other embodiments, and as illustrated in
More than two wings may be positioned around a circumference of the guide-tip 3. For example, a plurality of wings may be positioned evenly or unevenly along the circumference, and they can be arranged symmetrically or asymmetrically. The plurality of wings may be identical or different in shape and/or size. As shown in
In certain embodiments, the wings may form a continuous line with a base portion of the guide-tip. For example, as illustrated in
The guide-tip 3 (optionally with the wings) can be positioned on the distal end of the distal tube portion 11 by fusing or otherwise coupling the guide-tip 3 onto the tube wall 10. The wings can be fabricated as an integral part of tip 3; alternatively, the wings may be fused or otherwise coupled onto a base of tip 3 by a mechanical coupling (e.g., friction), adhesion, chemical linkage, etc.
The catheter 1 may be a micro catheter having one lumen for use in conjunction with a guiding catheter. The catheter 1 may also have more than one lumen, e.g., 2, 3, 4 or 5 lumens enclosed by the tube wall 10. The lumens may have equal or unequal inner diameters. One lumen may be connected to a balloon which can be affixed to the catheter 1. A steerable guidewire may be inserted through a lumen of the catheter. The catheter may be designed to optimize parameters such as push, torque, kink performance, trackability and transition. The wall thickness of the catheter may vary along its length direction, such that the flexibility of the catheter may vary along the length direction as needed or desired.
As shown in
Also shown in
As shown in
Side ports 6 and 7 can be positioned radially offset, between about 180° apart from each other, e.g., about 180° (±10°) apart from each other as shown in
The side ports may be symmetrical in shape and can be circular, semi-circular, ovoid, semi-ovoid, rectangular or semi-rectangular. The ports may have the same shape and size (i.e., surface area) or can be different from each other and are configured to allow for passage of a re-entry wire or another medical device through the ports. The dimensions of the port may be adjusted to accommodate different types of medical devices or wires, e.g., with diameters ranging from about 0.05 mm to about 1.0 mm. Erglis et al. Eurointervention 2010: 6, 1-8. The distal tube portion 11 can contain more than two exit ports, e.g., 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 . . . n ports along its length direction and radially distributed as desired.
The radiopaque markers configured as bands shown in
As shown in
In either
Also shown in
In some embodiments, the side port 6 (or 7) may be beveled, as shown in
The configurations of the distal tube portion 11 of catheter 1 shown in
As shown in
A spiral-cut section of the catheter can be used directly within the vasculature and may not require an outer jacket or an inner liner. Alternatively, a spiral cut section can be covered by a jacket 10a, as shown and described in connection in
The catheter may have several different spiral-cut patterns, including continuous and discontinuous. The spiral-cut sections may provide for a graduated transition in bending flexibility. For example, the spiral-cut pattern may have a pitch that changes, to increase flexibility in one or more areas. The pitch of the spiral cuts can be measured by the distance between points at the same radial position in two adjacent threads. In one embodiment, the pitch may increase as the spiral cut progresses from a proximal position to the distal end of the catheter. In another embodiment, the pitch may decrease as the spiral cut progresses from a proximal position of the catheter to the distal end of the catheter. In this case, the distal end of the catheter may be more flexible. By adjusting the pitch of the spiral cuts, the pushability, kink resistance, torque, flexibility and compression resistance of the catheter may be adjusted.
Spiral-cut sections having different cut patterns may be distributed along the length of the catheter. The spiral-cut patterns may be continuous or discontinuous along the length of the catheter. For example, there may be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, . . . , n spiral-cut sections along the length of the catheter, wherein within each section a constant cut pattern may be present but across different sections the cut patterns vary, e.g., in terms of pitch. Each section may also contain a variable pitch pattern within the particular section. Each spiral-cut section may have a constant pitch, e.g., in the range of from about 0.05 mm to about 10 mm, e.g., 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, 3.0 mm, 3.5 mm, 4.0 mm, etc. The pitch may also vary within each section. The pitches for different spiral-cut sections may be same or different. Alternatively, the catheter may have a continuously changing spiral-cut pattern along the length of the catheter. The orientation or handedness of spiral-cut sections in the catheter may also vary among spiral-cut sections.
As graphically illustrated in
Spiral sections S1, S2, S3 may each have a length and a pitch to provide a dimension and flexibility for the intended use of the catheter. For example, the lengths and pitches for each section may be selected for the performance requirements (e.g., diameter, length, shape and other configurations of the vasculature to be navigated by the catheter for accessing the treatment site) for performing a specific procedure, such as an antegrade CTO PCI procedure. For example, in one embodiment, section S1 can have a length ranging from about 10 cm-15 cm and a pitch ranging from about 0.5 mm to about 1.0 mm, section S2 can have a length ranging from about 4 to about 6 cm and a pitch ranging from about 1 to about 2 mm, section S3 can have a length ranging from about 0.5 cm to about 2 cm and a pitch ranging from 0.05 mm to about 0.3 mm.
The above illustrated spiral-cuts are continuous in the spiral-cut sections. Additionally, the spiral-cuts can include a pattern of interrupted spirals, i.e., spirals that include both cut and uncut portions. As illustrated in
Similar to what has been described with respect to continuous spiral-cuts herein, an interrupted spiral-cut pattern can also have a varying pitch that decreases from a relatively rigid region to a relatively flexible region. When a side port 6 such as one illustrated in connection with FIGS. 2A/5A is located in an interrupted spiral-cut section instead of a continuous spiral shown in FIGS. 2A/5A, the port 6 can also have a solid rim not breached by interrupted spiral cuts.
As illustrated in
In some embodiments, for an interrupted spiral-cut section, the interrupted spiral pattern can be designed such that each turn or rotation of the spiral includes a specific number of cuts, Nc (e.g., 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, etc.). Nc can also be whole numbers, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, . . . , n, as well as other real numbers, such as 2.2, 2.4, 2.7, 3.1, 3.3, etc. At a given Nc, the uncut extent α and the cut extent β can be chosen as α=(360−(β*Nc))/Nc such that each rotation has Nc number of repeat patterns each comprising a cut portion of extent β adjacent an uncut portion of extent α. For example, at Nc=1.5, 2.5, and 3.5, the following table shows example choices of various embodiments for α and β:
The catheter of the present invention can include continuous spiral-cut sections (as those illustrated in
To facilitate the transversal of a distal portion of the catheter tube 1 in the blood vessel of a subject, a torquing device (or handle assembly) can be provided to attach to a proximal portion of the catheter tube. The handle assembly can include a lumen or internal opening to accommodate the catheter tube, as well as to frictionally engage the catheter tube to apply a torque when a portion of the handle assembly is rotated.
In one embodiment, and as illustrated in
The handle assembly 700 as assembled is shown in
Compared to known catheter systems where a torquing handle is located at a fixed proximal position of the catheter tube, an advantage of the handle assembly of the present invention as illustrated herein is that the handle assembly can be easily unlocked or disengaged from the catheter tube so that the operator can slide the handle assembly to a different position of the catheter tube where the handle assembly can be relocked or re-engaged with the catheter tube. For example, after passing a length of the catheter tube into the vasculature of the patient, the handle assembly can be unlocked by pulling the proximal sleeve 710 away from the distal outer grip 720, resulting in an unlocked configuration where the exposed section 720b is greater than that of 720a, as shown in
To enhance the frictional engagement between the handle assembly and the catheter and to facilitate transfer of torque from the handle assembly, a portion of the proximal tube portion 13 of the catheter can be modified to have a cross section shape that deviates from a general circular cross section shape. For example, as shown in
As shown in
To accommodate the railed section of the catheter, an internal lumen of the chuck 750 and of the proximal sleeve 710 of the handle assembly can take a corresponding cross sectional shape. For example, as illustrated in
The catheter device of the present invention may be used to facilitate treatment of CTO lesions, such as in the coronary artery of a patient. First, a catheter of the present invention with a guide-tip having at least one wing (e.g., having two radially opposed wings) and a side port in a distal tube portion is advanced in the blood vessel and approaches the CTO lesion (or occlusion) in an artery. Then, the guide-tip of the catheter is advanced through the intima of the artery in a distal direction, until the at least one side port reaches a position in the subintimal space distal to the CTO lesion. In this process, the guide-tip causes dissection of the layers forming the wall of artery and establishes a channel extending longitudinally across the CTO lesion. The at least one side port can be oriented toward the true vascular lumen. Subsequently, while the guide-tip is retained in the subintimal space, a re-entry wire or device with a pre-biased distal tip portion can be introduced into the lumen of the catheter in a compressed state, and manipulated such that the distal tip of the re-entry wire or device exits from the at least one side port in a natural (uncompressed) state with the aid of radiographic visualization and enter into the true lumen.
In the above approach where the re-entry device or wire having a pre-biased tip is introduced into the true lumen via a side port, one or more side ports may be utilized during the reentry manipulation. For example, for a catheter having two radially opposed side ports and two corresponding radiopaque markers as illustrated in
The scope of the present invention is not limited by what has been specifically shown and described hereinabove. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are suitable alternatives to the depicted examples of configurations, constructions, and dimensions, and materials. The citation and discussion of any references in the application is provided merely to clarify the description of the present invention and is not an admission that any reference is prior art to the invention described herein. All references cited and discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. While certain embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation.
Claims
1. A catheter device comprising,
- a distal tube portion having a distal tip and a longitudinal axis, the distal tube portion including a tube wall comprising at least one side port and at least one radiopaque marker, and at least one wing protruding radially outward from the tube wall.
2. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wing comprises two wings protruding radially outward in diametrically opposing directions.
3. The catheter device of claim 2, wherein the at least one side port is radially offset from each of the two wings for about 90 degrees.
4. The catheter device of claim 2, wherein the at least one side port comprises a first side port and a second side port, wherein the second side port is located distal the first side port and being longitudinally and radially offset from the first side port.
5. The catheter device of claim 4, wherein the at least one radiopaque maker includes a first radiopaque marker located longitudinally between the first side port and the second side port, and a second radiopaque marker distal the second side port.
6. The catheter device of claim 4, wherein the first side port and the second side port are radially offset for about 180° degrees from each other.
7. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wing is part of a guide-tip engaging a distal end portion of the distal catheter tube portion.
8. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the catheter device includes at least one spiral-cut section, and wherein the at least one side port is located in the spiral-cut section and includes a rim not breached by a spiral cut.
9. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the catheter device comprises at least two spiral-cut sections having different pitches.
10. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the catheter device includes at least one spiral-cut section with interrupted spirals.
11. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising a radiopaque marker affixed on the distal tube portion in axial alignment with the at least one side port.
12. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising a radiopaque marker encircling the at least one side port.
13. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the at least one side port is beveled.
14. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wing is formed from a polymeric material.
15. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wing is formed from a metal.
16. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the distal tube portion is formed from stainless steel.
17. A method for facilitating treatment of an occlusion in a blood vessel with a catheter device, the blood vessel having a vascular wall defining a vascular lumen containing an occlusion therein, the method comprising:
- positioning the catheter device proximate the occlusion, the catheter device having a lumen and comprising: a distal catheter tube portion including a tube wall comprising at least one side port and at least one radiopaque marker, a guide-tip located at a distal end of the catheter, where the guide-tip includes at least two wings protruding radially outward in diametrically opposing directions,
- advancing the guide-tip within the vascular wall adjacent the occlusion until the at least one side port is positioned distal of the occlusion to establish a channel in the vascular wall extending longitudinally across the occlusion;
- orienting the at least one side port toward the vascular lumen;
- inserting a re-entry device through the lumen of the catheter device wherein the re-entry device has a distal end portion in a compressed state; and
- manipulating the re-entry device such that a distal end portion of the re-entry device exits, in a natural state, from the at least one side port into the distal segment of the vascular lumen.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one side port includes a first side port and a second side port, wherein the second side port is located distal the first side port and being longitudinally and radially offset from the first side port.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one radiopaque maker includes a first radiopaque marker located longitudinally between the first side port and the second side port, and a second radiopaque marker distal the second side port.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 15, 2015
Publication Date: Mar 17, 2016
Inventor: Robert J. Cottone (Davie, FL)
Application Number: 14/854,242