Bendable plastic tube catheter

Abstract

Abstract A catheter (1) is formed by a bendable plastic tube and has a hollow channel (7) in its interior and a deflectable region (4) at its distal end in order to be controlled, for example, on insertion in branches of blood vessels. For deflection of the region (4) there is used a tension element (5) which extends eccentrically toward the centre and is surrounded by its own guide. The catheter (1) has a regular circular, oval or elliptical cross-section, and the tension element (5) and its guide are housed within the contour of this cross-section. In order to ensure that the catheter is bent only in its deflectable region (4) and not in the region leading to it, when a tensile force is applied on the tension element (5), the catheter (1) has a slightly flexible reinforcement extending up to the deflectable or flexible region (4) approximately in parallel with the tension element (5) and reinforcing the non-deflectable region within the catheter cross-section. This reinforcement may be a guide tube (8) made of metal or a hard plastic and receiving the tension element (5) as a guide, and/or another tension element (15) which is firmly installed on an opposite side of the catheter, about on a diameter, in parallel with the movable tension element (5) and extends only up to the deflectable region (4). <IMAGE>

Inventors

• 👤 Peter Dr. Ing. Osypka

Bibliographic Details