A catheter has a catheter tube made of plastic with a closed catheter tip. At least one passage opening is formed in a section of a sheath wall adjacent to the catheter tip. The passage opening merges into the outer sheath wall of the catheter tube via rounded edge regions. The result is a catheter whose insertion into a body cavity is facilitated.

An instrument (203; 204) for endoscopic applications. The instrument is able to be guided through a curved shaped tube (201; 202) and has an intermediate cylindrical element (3) with a handling end portion with a flexible portion and actuating means located at an actuating end portion. The intermediate cylindrical element (3) has a first cylindrical part (31; 151) at the handling end portion, a second cylindrical part (35; 155) at the actuating end portion and a number of longitudinal elements (38; 60; 70; 80; 90; 100; 110; 130; 153) for transferring the movement of the actuating means to the handling end portion. The longitudinal elements are separated by longitudinal slits in the intermediate cylindrical element.

The designs and methods disclosed herein are for a clot retrieval catheter that can have a proximal elongate body with a large bore lumen and a distal tip expandable to a diameter larger than the outer sheath through which it is delivered. The distal tip can have a flexible metallic support frame to provide radial scaffolding and the ability for further flexible expansion when ingesting a clot. The support frame can be designed so that the expanding movement is focused in a portion of the circumference though a plurality of deformable cells that can collapse to be almost flat and parallel to the longitudinal axis for deliverability, but expand to a very steep angle for good resistance to collapse under aspiration. The designs can be sufficiently flexible to navigate tortuous anatomy but recover to maintain the inner diameter of the lumen when displaced in a vessel.

A catheter includes a hollow shaft, a multi-thread coil body covering the hollow shaft, and a cover member covering the multi-thread coil body. The multi-thread coil body includes a ring-shaped or substantially hollow cylindrical joint part in which distal ends of a plurality of element wires are joined in a circumferential direction, a coil main body located at a proximal side of the joint part in an axial direction, in which an outer shape of a cross section of each of the plurality of element wires is circular, and a transition part located between the joint part and the coil main body, in which a width of at least one of the plurality of element wires widens toward a distal end of the element wire.

A medical probe includes a shaft for navigation in a patient body, and first and second deflection mechanisms. The shaft ends with a flexible section and a spring, followed by a rigid distal tip having one or more medical devices coupled thereto. The first deflection mechanism is configured to deflect the flexible section relative to the shaft. The second deflection mechanism is configured to deflect the distal tip relative to the first flexible section by using the spring.

Embodiments herein relate to catheters including multiple braid layers. In an embodiment, a catheter is included having a catheter body, the catheter body can include a proximal end portion; a distal end portion; an inner liner; and a braided structure, the braided structure can include an inner braid layer, the inner braid layer can include a first set of inner wires; and a second set of inner wires; an outer braid layer, the outer braid layer can include a first set of outer wires; and a second set of outer wires; wherein the braided structure is disposed over the inner liner; wherein the first set of inner wires are larger than the second set of inner wires; and wherein the first set of outer wires are larger than the second set of outer wires. Other embodiments are also included herein.

The distal tip structure of a rapidly insertable central catheter (RICC) can be required to perform different functions from that of the remaining, multi-luminal section, of the RICC catheter. As such, the catheter body can be formed of a first material and the distal tip structure can be formed of a second material. Forming the RICC requires joining these two materials while maintaining a smooth abluminal surface. A bifurcated plug including a second material can be placed within a first lumen or second lumen of the catheter body. A mandrel can be placed within a third lumen. The assembly can then be placed within a die to plastically deform the bifurcated plug into a distal tip structure. Advantageously, only a single structure is required to plug the lumen and form the distal tip structure, reducing complexity and associated costs.

In some examples, a catheter includes an elongated body comprising proximal and distal portions. The distal portion of the elongated body comprises an inner liner that includes a proximal liner section and a distal liner section that include different materials, and an outer jacket positioned over the inner liner. The distal liner section has a first hardness and the proximal liner section has a second hardness, where the first hardness is less than the second hardness.

Ablation systems and methods of the present disclosure include a catheter including one or more image sensors. The one or more image sensors can facilitate, for example, positioning an ablation electrode at a treatment site of an anatomic structure and, additionally or alternatively, can facilitate controlling delivery of therapeutic energy to a treatment site of an anatomic structure.

An enhanced flexibility catheter shaft having an elongate flexible body with a proximal end, a distal end, and at least one lumen extending therethrough. A distal, flexible section on the body has a ribbed or corrugated tubular membrane having at least a first reinforcement structure, such as a first helical support, on a radially exterior or interior surface of the membrane and optionally a second reinforcement structure, such as a second helical support, on the other of the radially interior or exterior surface of the membrane