A balloon for medical treatments such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), delivery of a vascular stents or stent grafts, employs reinforcement materials that are patterned so as to promote consistent folding of the balloon. Also disclosed are methods and apparatus for biocidal treatment using a balloon, including balloons with fiber fabric reinforcements.

A balloon for a balloon catheter includes a body section and cone sections. At least one of the cone sections defines a plurality of grooves spaced around the circumference of the cone section.

A balloon wrapping apparatus for folding a balloon at a distal portion of an elongated shaft includes: a pleating section that forms the balloon with pleats; a folding section that folds the pleats formed in the balloon, along a circumferential direction; and a support base that supports the shaft and can be moved toward and away from the pleating section. The pleating section includes an insertion hole through which the balloon can be inserted, and a back surface hole provided in a back surface on the side opposite to the side on which the insertion hole is provided. The pleating section includes an assisting shaft which can be inserted into the back surface hole from the rear surface side, and an interlock portion interlocking the assisting shaft with the support base. The assisting shaft is formed with a cavity portion.

A metal balloon catheter having a main tubular body, a metal balloon proximate a distal end of the main tubular body, a central annulus extending along an entire longitudinal aspect of the catheter for accommodating a guidewire therethrough and an inflation annulus adjacent the central annulus which extends along the longitudinal axis of the main tubular body and terminates in fluid flow communication with an inflation chamber of the metal balloon. The metal balloon catheter may be either unitary integral metal catheter in which the main tubular body and the balloon are fabricated of metal, or it may consist of a polymeric main tubular body and a metal balloon.

Making a balloon catheter includes increasing a temperature of material forming an elongate body positioned within a cavity in an adjustable molding iris, and increasing a fluid pressure within a lumen extending through the elongate body. A segment of the elongate body is plastically deformed in response to the increased fluid pressure, and limited in outward expansion via contacting movable blade members forming the adjustable molding iris.

A balloon catheter includes a shaft and a balloon having one or more fold lines. The balloon is disposed outside the shaft, and the balloon includes one or more first regions and one or more second regions. The first region retains medicine on an outer surface of the balloon. The second region retains less medicine than the first region or retains no medicine.

A balloon catheter includes a shaft, and a balloon provided outside the shaft. A drug is provided on an outer surface of the balloon, and the balloon has at least a straight tube part. A change ratio of an outer diameter of the straight tube part, (D28D24)/D24, is 1.1% or less. D24 is the outer diameter of the straight tube part when an internal pressure of 2.43 MPa (24 atm) is applied, and D28 is the outer diameter of the straight tube part when an internal pressure of 2.84 MPa (28 atm) is applied.

A balloon for a balloon catheter includes a body section and cone sections. At least one of the cone sections defines a plurality of grooves spaced around the circumference of the cone section.

A catheter for ablating tissue is provided. The catheter comprises an elongated generally-tubular catheter body having proximal and distal ends. An electrode assembly is provided at the distal end of the catheter body. The electrode assembly including a porous electrode arrangement that is generally transverse to the catheter body. The porous electrode arrangement comprises one or more electrodes electrically connected to a suitable energy source and a porous sleeve mounted in surrounding relation to the one or more electrodes and defining an open space between the porous sleeve and the one more electrodes. One or more irrigation openings fluidly connect the open space to a lumen extending through the catheter through which fluid can pass. In use, fluid passes through the lumen in the catheter, through the one or more irrigation openings, into the open space and through the porous sleeve.

A balloon catheter is disclosed that can effectively deliver a drug to living body tissue, a method of manufacturing a balloon catheter, and a treatment method. A balloon catheter is disclosed, the balloon catheter is provided on an outer surface of a balloon with a plurality of elongate bodies which are independent crystals of a water-insoluble drug extending in an elongate form. The elongate bodies include fixed-side elongate bodies which are fixed to the outer surface side of the balloon, and top-side elongate bodies which are bent or broken from the fixed-side elongate bodies and are continuous with or independent of the fixed-side elongate bodies.