The invention relates to a balloon catheter (1) to be introduced into the blood vessel system of the human or animal body, said catheter having a longitudinally extending shaft (2), with the balloon catheter (1) comprising a distal portion (A) in which a balloon (3) is arranged that is expandable by the supply of a fluid through a lumen (9) extending through the shaft (2), with the distal tip (8) of the balloon catheter (1) being provided with a coating consisting of a hydrogel (7). The invention provides a balloon catheter (1) capable of easily passing through constricted areas in blood vessels.

A connector (1) includes: a tube (10) configured to be arranged in an interior of a vascular channel; a tubular body (30) having an inner wall surface configured to, together with an outer wall surface of the tube (10), sandwich the vascular channel when the tube (10) is arranged in the interior of the vascular channel; and a balloon (20), configured to be arranged on the outer wall surface of the tube (10) or the inner wall surface of the tubular body (30), and radially expand for performing sealing (i) between the soft tubular member and the inner wall surface of the tubular body (30) and (ii) between the soft tubular member and the outer wall surface of the tube (10). A fluid supply system (100) may include the connector (1), and a perfusion solution supply device (120) connected to the connector (1) and configured to supply a perfusion solution into the interior of the vascular channel.

A medication delivery device for treatment of a pulmonary disorder in a patient includes an elongate member, an expandable member is coupled to a distal end of the elongate member, and an agent delivery portion coupled to an external surface of the expandable member. The agent delivery portion includes an agent that disrupts nerve activity.

A drug coating layer that prevents breakage of elongated drug crystals on a balloon surface while maintaining the drug crystals in an appropriate shape to act on the living body includes plural elongated bodies which are crystals of a water-insoluble drug each extending from the surface of the balloon at various lengths and angles, and a water-soluble additive layer provided in a space between an outer surface of an aggregate of the elongated bodies and the balloon surface to fill a space between the elongated bodies. The outer surface of the additive layer being located outside the aggregate, being uneven connecting a plurality of tip ends and side surfaces of the elongated bodies to each other. The tip ends of the elongated bodies slightly protrude from the additive layer, and the side surfaces and/or tip surfaces of the elongated body are exposed on the surface of the additive layer.

A balloon catheter has an outer shaft which surrounds a shaft lumen. The outer shaft has a proximal outer shaft portion connected to a distal outer shaft portion. An inner shaft is in a distal portion of the shaft lumen. A guide wire lumen is in the inner shaft. An opening at a proximal end portion of the inner shaft permits the guide wire to be guided out from the outer shaft. A metallic tube is in the shaft lumen. The proximal end portion of the inner shaft is engaged with the metallic tube. A separate, elongate and metallic stiffening element is in the shaft lumen, and is connected to the metallic tube and protrudes from the metallic tube into the distal portion of the shaft lumen and into the proximal portion of the shaft lumen to stiffen portions of the outer shaft.

Systems and methods for localized drug delivery via undulating drug coated balloons (DCB), in particular using functionalized nanoparticles as a drug delivery medium in combination with an undulating balloon, are disclosed. In various disclosed embodiments, a nanoparticle matrix is adhered to in an external substrate-surface, such as the balloon surface, and is activated for release once at the treatment site. Activation for release may be enhanced through the use of an undulating balloon system including methodologies for precise control of timing, waveform and extent of undulations.

A balloon comprising: a center portion having a proximal end, a distal end opposite the proximal end, and a length between the proximal end and the distal end. The center portion comprises: a first nominal diameter and a first radial modulus at the proximal end; a second nominal diameter and a second radial modulus at the distal end; further wherein, the first nominal diameter is equal to the second nominal diameter, such that, when the balloon is inflated to a nominal pressure, the center portion has a constant diameter over the length; and further wherein, the first radial modulus is smaller than the second radial modulus, such that, when the balloon is inflated above a nominal pressure, the center portion adopts a tapered shape in which the proximal end has a first stretched diameter and the distal end has a second stretched diameter, the first stretched diameter being larger than the second stretched diameter.

A balloon in which a rupture in a circumferential direction can be prevented from occurring, and a method of manufacturing the same is disclosed. The balloon is configured to be arranged on a medical catheter, and includes a dilatable cylindrical portion formed with a birefringent polymer material. A ratio of the number of orientation distributions, calculated by dividing the number of orientation distributions of the cylindrical portion in a circumferential direction by the number of orientation distributions of the cylindrical portion in an axial direction, is less than 2.

Apparatus and methods are provided for accessing body lumens and/or for delivering instruments into body lumens, e.g., vessels within a patient's vasculature. A flexible sheath is provided that is expandable from a contracted condition to an enlarged condition wherein the sheath at least partially defines a lumen therein. The sheath is lubricious and has a relatively thin wall, thereby providing a collapsible/expandable guide for delivering fluids and/or instruments through tortuous anatomy and/or into relatively narrow passages. The sheath is advanced from an entry site to a body lumen in the contracted condition. Once the sheath reaches a target body lumen, the sheath is expanded to the enlarged condition, thereby defining a lumen within the sheath, and fluids and/or instruments are introduced into the body lumen via the sheath lumen. Upon completing the procedure, the sheath is removed from the body lumen.

A single extrusion triple lumen expandable device designed for obtaining tissue from the aerodigestive tract is provided. The device may have internal and external folds and a tissue collection surface for collecting a tissue sample from a body lumen, such as the nose or throat. The device includes a camera and lumens for enhanced functionality. The present invention is also directed to methods of collecting a tissue sample using the devices, described herein.