The invention provides a system for treating an occlusion within a body lumen. The system may comprise an insulated outer sheath; an elongated conductive tube, wherein the insulated outer sheath is circumferentially mounted around the elongated conductive tube; and an insulated wire having a helically coiled portion at a distal end of the insulated wire. The coiled portion includes an exposed distal tip, and a distal portion of the elongated conductive tube is circumferentially mounted around the distal coiled portion of the insulated wire. When a voltage is applied across the insulated wire and the elongated conductive tube, a current is configured to flow from the exposed distal tip of the insulated wire to the elongated conductive tube to generate a plurality of cavitation bubbles. In an alternate embodiment, an elongated central electrode is used in place of the conductive tube.

A medical device may include an elongated body, a balloon positioned at a distal portion of the elongated body, and one or more pressure-wave emitters positioned along a central longitudinal axis of the elongated body within the balloon. The one or more pressure-wave emitters may be configured to propagate pressure waves radially outward through the fluid to fragment a calcified lesion at the target treatment site. The at least one of the one or more pressure-wave emitters may include an electronic emitter comprising a first electrode and a second electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode may be arranged to define a spark gap between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the second electrode may comprise a portion of a hypotube.

In some examples, a catheter (e.g., a balloon catheter) includes a guidewire tube extending through a catheter body and a coating on at least a portion of an outer surface of the guidewire tube. In some examples, the coating is an elastomeric coating. The coating is configured to increase friction between the portion of the outer surface of the guidewire tube and an inner surface of the catheter body when the portion of the outer surface contacts an inner surface of the catheter body.

The subject guide catheter extension system with a micro-catheter delivery catheter includes an outer sheath, an inner member extending within the sheath, and a mechanism for engagement/disengagement of the inner member to/from the sheath. Several mechanisms of engagement/disengagement between the inner and outer members are provided including a friction mechanism, threaded mechanism, pull away sheath, and engagement/disengagement mechanism for pusher's handles. The sheath and the inner member are modified for different engagement/disengagement mechanisms operation. A micro-catheter delivery system provides for an improved atraumatic crossability to the treatment site in an expedited and simplified fashion. During a procedure, a guidewire along with a guide catheter are advanced to the vicinity of the treatment site within a blood vessel. Subsequent thereto, the subject guide catheter extension system is manipulated to advance the micro-catheter along the guidewire inside the guide catheter towards and beyond the site of interest. Once the micro-catheter is in place, the outer sheath slides along the micro-catheter until reaching the lesion, and then the inner member is removed from the sheath, and the sheath then is ready for passing the treatment catheter (stent/balloon) towards the lesion to be treated.

To provide a catheter for aortic valvuloplasty in which it is possible to significantly increase the therapeutic effect despite being minimally invasive. The present invention provides a catheter for aortic valvuloplasty characterized by including: first to third balloons that can expand and contract due to supply of a fluid, it being possible to change the relative positional relationships of the first to third balloons; first to third shafts that connect to the first to third balloons at the tip and supply fluid to the first to third balloons to cause the first to third balloons to expand and contract independently of each other; and at least one wire that introduces the first to third balloons from outside the patient's body to the aortic valve.

A guide extension catheter with improved stability includes an elongated pushing portion connected to an extension portion with a balloon disposed near its distal end. An inflation lumen extends along a length of the pushing portion and the extension portion to feed fluid into an interior of the balloon. Introduction of fluid into the balloon expands it radially outward from the extension to apply pressure against an inner wall of the vessel to anchor the distal end of the extension within the vessel.

The invention refers to endovascular catheters and methods useful to endovascular surgery. In particular, it refers to support catheters with balloons that are used for the placement or the forwarding of the guidewire through demanding tortuosity and important vascular stenoses in cases where the guidewire needs the best possible backup support of the catheter. This is achieved with the development of an endovascular support catheter with a mobile balloon, which has the ability to move along the body of the catheter, at its distal part. The movement of the balloon is achieved with the use of two mobile external rings, one inner wire circuit, and one control handle which is found at the proximal end of the device. The mobile balloon allows the catheter to move inside the vessel even when it is inflated and basically anchored within the vessel.

An exoskeleton device is capable of being applied to an outer surface of an elongated medical instrument, such as a catheter or a balloon (e.g., an angioplasty balloon, etc.). The exoskeleton device includes a sleeve or another element that is configured to be placed over a distal portion of the elongated medical instrument, one or more features on the sleeve or other element for performing a procedure within the body of a subject, and one or more elements that communicate with the sleeve or other element and/or the features carried thereby to enable performance of the procedure within the body of the subject. Methods of applying exoskeleton devices to elongated medical instruments and methods of using exoskeleton devices are also disclosed.

A flow blocking catheter including an inner tube, a flow blocking member and an outer tube is provided. The flow blocking member is self-expandable and sleeved on an exterior of the inner tube. At least a proximal end of the self-expandable flow blocking member is attached to an outer circumference of the inner tube. The outer tube is movably sleeved on the exterior of the inner tube to restrict an expansion of the flow blocking member. In this way, expansion of the flow blocking member is able to be controlled simply by pushing/retracting the outer or inner tube to offer a fast shifting between different configurations. The flow blocking member is able to occlude blood flow with a controllably expansion to lower stimulation to the wall of the blood vessel and avoid the easy bursting of the balloon.

A system has a balloon guide catheter for use in mechanical thrombectomy procedures which requires very little preparation to inflate the balloon compared to most contemporary designs. The balloon guide catheter can have an elongated tubular member and a proximal luer. The elongated tubular member of the catheter can have two internal lumens. A first inner hollow lumen can have a large opening for aspiration and the advancement of auxiliary devices, and a second inflation lumen can provide a fluidic passageway to inflate the balloon. The proximal luer can have a luer lumen, an inflation port, and a mandrel hub. A removable mandrel can extend distally from the mandrel hub to occupy the full length and volume of the inflation lumen of the tubular member. A tab of the mandrel can extend external to the luer to facilitate removal of the mandrel from the catheter prior to inflating the balloon.