Disclosed is a balloon catheter that can prevent or reduce axial rotation and circumferential shift of the elongate body while ensuring good passage of the balloon in the blood vessel. The balloon catheter (100) has a shaft (110); a balloon (120); an elongate body (180) extending along the shaft (110) and having a body tissue contacting part at its distal end part; and an elongate body lumen (130), the elongate body lumen (130) having a first engagement part (131) so that axial rotation angle of the elongate body (180) is 0° to 60°, and the first engagement part (131) being located between the distal end (130d) of the elongate body lumen (130) and a position 30 cm from the distal end of the elongate body lumen (130) toward the proximal side.

A medical elongated body or a balloon catheter that include a catheter main body, a tubular body, and a distal member at a distal end of the tubular body. The distal member is more flexible than the tubular body. The distal end of the tubular body is joined to the distal member at a joint portion. The tubular body includes an outer layer and an inner layer disposed inside of the outer layer in the radial direction of the tubular body. The material of the inner layer possesses better fusing properties with respect to the distal member than the fusing properties of the outer layer material with respect to the distal member material. The inner layer is interposed between the distal member and the outer layer by extending between the distal member and the outer layer at the joint portion.

Provided is a treatment method of being able to improve the obstruction of a biological lumen caused by stenosis of the biological lumen and the stagnation of a secretion. The treatment method includes a disposition step of disposing a dilation portion that can be dilated and deflated, and a collection portion, which is capable of removing a secretion S secreted from a biological lumen from a living body, in a stenosed site occurring in the biological lumen; a dilation step of widening the stenosed site after the disposition step by dilating the dilation portion in the stenosed site after the disposition step; and a removal step of removing the secretion from the living body by a removal portion.

Angioplasty or valvuloplasty balloon catheters with a ripcord for cutting, ripping, or tearing a balloon can achieve faster deflation times. Methods using such catheters can improve patient outcomes in percutaneous transluminal valvuloplasty and angioplasty.

A balloon catheter, in particular for delivering medicaments, stents or medicament-coated stents in the region of a stenosis, comprising an outer shaft (4) an inner shaft (6), and a balloon (7) at the distal catheter end, which balloon is dilatable by a feedable pressure fluid and which is attached with its proximal end (8) to the outer shaft (4) and with its distal end (9) to the inner shaft (6) which protrudes the outer shaft (4) in the distal direction, and a cover sheath (15) which is seated in a covering position over the contracted balloon (7) and is displaceably guided on the outer shaft (4) and which is displaceable on the outer shaft (4) in the proximal direction via its front opening (17) by the dilating balloon (7) while continuously releasing the same from distal to proximal.

The present invention provides a medical device that may include a catheter body having proximal and distal portions, a fluid injection lumen disposed within elongate body, and a guidewire lumen disposed within the elongate body. A tip portion defining a cavity in fluid communication with the fluid injection lumen may be coupled to the distal end of the guidewire lumen, and an expandable element may be coupled to the distal portion of the catheter body and to the tip portion, such that the expandable element is in fluid communication with the fluid injection lumen. A shaping element may at least partially surround the expandable element, where the shaping element is configurable in a first geometric configuration and a second geometric configuration.

A safety balloon catheter includes a catheter having a stretch valve, a connector, a balloon inflated with an inflation fluid, a hollow inflation lumen extending through the catheter to the balloon and conveying inflation fluid thereto and therefrom, a hollow second lumen, and a balloon drainage port fluidically connecting the balloon to the second lumen. The stretch valve has a hollow base fixed in the second lumen at a proximal catheter end and shaped to permit a fluid therethrough and a hollow plug slidably positioned in the second lumen at a given distance from the base to, in a steady state, prevent inflation fluid from passing through the drainage port and, when actuated, slide within the second lumen to permit inflation fluid to pass through the drainage port and into the second lumen. The connector connects the base and the plug and has a length greater than the given distance.

An apparatus for medical diagnosis and/or treatment is provides. The apparatus includes a flexible substrate forming an inflatable body and a plurality of force sensing elements disposed on the flexible substrate. The plurality of force sensing elements are disposed about the inflatable body such that the force sensing elements are disposed at areas of minimal curvature of the inflatable body in a deflated state.

A clot capture catheter comprises an elongate tubular shaft having a proximal end, a distal end and an inflatable expansile member at the distal end. The expansile member is inflatable from a collapsed delivery configuration to an expanded configuration. In the expanded configuration, the expansile member extends to define a funnel shape having an enlarged distal clot entry mouth at the distal-most end of the catheter. In the expanded configuration, the expansile member may extend distally beyond the distalmost tip of the shaft. The expansile member may be integral with the distal tip of the catheter shaft.

An apparatus includes a shaft, a balloon, a tip member, and a heating feature. The tip member is distal to the balloon and has a larger outer diameter than the shaft. The heating feature is operable to ablate tissue of the Eustachian tube contacting the balloon in the expanded state. The heating feature may include an illuminating element and a photosensitive coating on the balloon. Alternatively, the heating feature may include a thermal heating element that heats the balloon inflation fluid and thereby heats the wall of the balloon. Another apparatus includes a shaft, a tip member, and an electrode assembly. The electrode assembly includes a plurality of electrodes positioned along the shaft near the distal end, proximal to the tip member. The electrodes are spaced apart from each other along a longitudinal axis and are operable to apply RF energy to tissue to thereby ablate the tissue.