A device, a method of making a device and a method of inserting a device into a tubular path. The device includes a tubular sheath with one or more helical slots formed therein and a control element that fits within the sheath. In one form, the device is an endoluminal device that simultaneously improves flexibility and structural rigidity though variations in one or both of slot width along the length of the slot and slot pitch along the length of the tubular sheath. When the operator pulls at the proximal end of the control element while holding the outer sheath in place, the slots will tend to close in a preferential manner such that more precise control of device length and bending is enabled, while simultaneously providing improvements in structural rigidity during device insertion and navigation through a body lumen or related tubular member where tortuous paths may be encountered along the member path.

A neuromodulation catheter includes an elongate shaft and a neuromodulation element. The shaft includes two or more first cut shapes and two or more second cut shapes along a helical path extending around a longitudinal axis of the shaft. The first cut shapes are configured to at least partially resist deformation in response to longitudinal compression and tension on the shaft and torsion on the shaft in a first circumferential direction. The second cut shapes are configured to at least partially resist deformation in response to longitudinal compression on the shaft and torsion on the shaft in both first and second opposite circumferential directions.

The designs herein can be for a flexible and kink-resistant catheter with a support tube which can be radially expanded to enable it to be slid over an inner liner on a mandrel during assembly. The designs are flexible enough to allow the catheter to access remote vessel occlusions but also benefit from good compressive and tensile stiffness. The designs can have a laser cut frame with interlocking structure of circumferentially discontinuous rib struts. The discontinuities can be aligned to form at least one continuous axial seam which is separable to allow for the radial expansion during manufacturing. A series of polymeric outer jackets can coat or encapsulate the struts of the frame, giving variable stiffness and preventing disengagement of the interlocking structure while the catheter is pushed through tortuous anatomy.

Medical devices and methods for making and using the same. An example medical device may include a tubular member and a liner disposed within the tubular member. The tubular member may have a plurality of slots formed therein. A space may be defined between the tubular member and the liner. One or more bonding members may be disposed in the space.

A handle for a prosthetic heart valve delivery apparatus includes a housing, a motorized mechanism, and a holding mechanism. The housing is configured to be hand-held by a user and includes a distal opening. The motorized mechanism is disposed within the housing and is configured to be releasably coupled to a proximal end portion of a first shaft of the prosthetic heart valve delivery apparatus. When actuated, the motorized mechanism is configured to rotate the first shaft relative to the housing. The holding mechanism is disposed inside the housing and is configured to engage a proximal end portion of a second shaft of the prosthetic heart valve delivery apparatus such that the second shaft is axially and rotationally fixed relative to the housing, and the first shaft extends through the second shaft.

A catheter system may include an outer catheter adapter, an outer catheter having an outer catheter lumen extending through the outer catheter, and an inner surface forming the outer catheter lumen. The catheter system may further include an inner catheter adapter, an inner catheter lumen extending through the inner catheter adapter and an inner catheter extending distally from the inner catheter adapter such that the inner catheter is disposed within the outer catheter lumen and the inner catheter and the inner catheter adapter are configured to move with respect to the outer catheter and the outer catheter adapter between a proximal position and a distal position.

The present disclosure relates to guidewire devices having shapeable tips and effective torquability. A guidewire device includes a core having a proximal section and a tapered distal section. A tube structure is coupled to the core such that the tapered distal section extends into the tube structure. The tube structure includes a plurality of bypass cuts formed tangentially within the tube structure to increase the flexibility of the tube structure and to reduce the tendency of resilient forces from the tube structure to disrupt a shaped distal tip of the guidewire device.

An embolization microcatheter having an elongated microcatheter body configured for passing therein a suspension of particles suspended in a suspension fluid; and a microcatheter head connected to a distal end of said microcatheter body and comprising a proximal head section and a distal head section, wherein the proximal head section includes a proximal wall forming a proximal section lumen, the proximal wall having a plurality of through-holes, wherein the distal head section includes a distal wall forming a distal section lumen, and a suspension delivery opening at a distal end of the distal end section; wherein the distal section is devoid of through-holes, and wherein each of the plurality of through-holes are shaped and/or sized to allow passage therethrough of the suspension fluid while blocking passage of the particles suspended therein.

The present disclosure relates to interventional devices such as catheters and guidewire devices having micro-fabricated features for providing flexibility while maintaining good torquability. An interventional device includes an elongated member (500) having an arrangement of fenestrations which define a plurality of axially extending beams coupling a plurality of circumferentially extending rings. The fenestrations are arranged so that the resulting beams form a distributed, non-helical and non-linear pattern along the length of the elongated member. The pattern of fenestrations thereby minimizes or eliminates preferred bending axes.

The objectives for the designs presented herein can be for a variably flexible and kink-resistant catheter for vascular applications. The designs benefit from good compressive and tensile stiffness. A braided wire support structure can be disposed around an inner liner and an outer layer having a plurality of outer jackets of variable durometer. A metallic reinforcing layer can be cut from a hypotube and be used as the primary structure for catheter stiffness, reducing the reliance on and number of jackets to transition stiffness changes along the length of the catheter. The metallic reinforcing layer can have one or more ribbon cut segments and one or more axial hole patterns laser cut into the hypotube to progressively evolve the stiffness from proximally regions with more column stiffness and distal regions with greater lateral flexibility. The polymer jackets can be reflowed to bond the structure together.