Double lumen dilatation catheter

Claim 1

A dilatation catheter comprising an elongated flexible tubular outer catheter, a housing having axially aligned distal and proximal openings, said outer catheter having its proximal end attached to said housing in alignment with the distal opening thereof, a dilatation balloon having its distal end in secured relationship to the distal end of said outer catheter, an elongated flexible tubular inner catheter extending along said outer catheter in generally spaced relation thereto and through said housing and the distal and proximal openings thereof, said inner catheter having its distal end attached in sealed communicating relation with the proximal end of said balloon to provide a passage through the balloon, means associated with the proximal opening of said housing to grip the proximal end of said inner catheter when the same has been tensioned to remove the slack from said balloon and inner catheter, said means being selectively operable to grip and ungrip said inner catheter and having an open-ended unobstructed rectilinear throughbore axially aligned with said axially aligned distal and proximal openings to thereby provide said catheter with a permanently open central lumen whereby said dilatation catheter may be readily guided for emplacement by a pre-positioned guide wire, and a radially enlarged chamber defined within the housing between said distal and proximal openings to receive and store a layup loop of said inner catheter when the proximal end thereof is manually fed inwardly of said proximal opening of said housing between successive ungripping and gripping operations of said means to thereby condition said balloon for eversion from said outer catheter.