A urinary catheter and a method of its manufacture are disclosed. The urinary catheter comprises a tubular shaft extending between an insertion end and a discharge end, the tubular shaft being formed of at least two materials having different properties. The materials are arranged substantially separated from each other in distinct zones, wherein at least one of the width and thickness of said zones varies over the length of the tubular shaft, to form two or more uniform sections of the tubular shaft having various relative amounts of said materials, and wherein at least one transition between two such uniform sections is formed by at least one transition section providing a gradual transition between the uniform sections. The catheter can e.g. be produced by intermittent extrusion.

An introducer sheath is disclosed, which includes a tube body that is percutaneously inserted into a body lumen; and a hub that is connected to a proximal portion of the tube body. The tube body contains a polyvinylidene fluoride resin, a ratio of a thickness to an inner diameter of the tube body is 1/16 or lower, and a ration of a kink radius to an outer diameter of the tube body is 9.5 or lower.

A catheter system includes an indwelling, hollow catheter having a tip inserted into a person's bladder. The tip has an opening through which urine from the bladder passes into the catheter. A flexible reservoir extends around the person's ankle and has walls bounding an interior compartment. A flexible, elongated tube has one end connected to the catheter and an opposite end connected to the reservoir. The tube is hollow for conducting urine in the catheter through the tube into the compartment of the reservoir. One of the walls of the reservoir is a bottom wall that engages and rests on a top of the person's foot in use to resist downward movement of the reservoir as the reservoir is filled with urine. A freely manipulated drain pipe is in fluid communication with the reservoir.

An elongated medical instrument includes a base material part, and an outer layer part made of a resin provided on a surface of the base material part. An outer surface of the outer layer part is a substantially flat surface other than the presence of irregularly disposed recesses or protrusions.

Methods, apparatuses, and systems are described for stent delivery and positioning for transluminal application. The system may include a stent that is disposed coaxially onto an inner tubular member. In some cases, the system may include an outer sheath disposed coaxially along at least a portion of the inner tubular member. The system may include a distal cutting element coupled with a distal end of the inner tubular member and an anchoring component disposed at a distal portion of the inner tubular member. The anchoring component may be configured to retain a distal portion of the stent in place along the inner tubular member as the outer sheath is retracted proximally to deploy the stent, wherein upon retraction of the outer sheath, the stent releases from the anchoring component and expands into a deployed configuration within the body lumen.

A delivery device can be provided with a low outer profile and high flexibility for navigating tortuous anatomy. An inner lumen defined by a shaft of the delivery device provides adequate space for delivery devices to target anatomy. Additionally, the delivery device maintains the patency of its lumen even when positioned within tortuous anatomy. The turns of filar(s) forming a coil of the shaft adjust their axial spacing relative to each other to avoiding buckling that would otherwise result in a narrowing of the inner lumen.

A protective sleeve for a urinary catheter includes a sleeve configured to extend over an outer surface of the urinary catheter shaft from a proximal insertion end of the catheter shaft to a distal end of the catheter shaft. The protective sleeve includes a protective sleeve tip defining the proximal end portion of the sleeve. The sleeve and the protective sleeve tip are of a single unitary construction and the sleeve and protective sleeve tip are formed of the same thin, flexible film. The protective sleeve tips has a first pre-use configuration when a proximal insertion end of the catheter is not within the protective sleeve tip wherein the protective sleeve tip is in a collapsed state, and a second configuration when a proximal insertion end of a urinary catheter is inserted into the protective sleeve tip, in the second configuration the protective sleeve tip being in an extended state that is configured to cover the proximal insertion end of the urinary catheter shaft and the thin, flexible film conforms to and is supported by the proximal insertion end of the urinary catheter for insertion of the protective sleeve tip into the urethral opening.

A vasculature navigation system may include a dilator having a proximal end and a distal end located opposite the proximal end, the dilator comprising a guidewire lumen extending between the proximal end and the distal end, the dilator defining a proximal portion and a distal portion located opposite the proximal portion. In some embodiments, the vasculature navigation system also includes an access port located at the proximal end of the dilator, a distal port located at the distal end of the dilator, and a hemostasis valve coupled to the proximal portion of the dilator. The hemostasis valve may be configured to control fluid flow between the proximal portion and the distal portion. In some embodiments, a flush port is coupled to the proximal portion of the dilator and located distal to the hemostasis valve, and the flush port is coupled to a fluid supply source.

A coated urinary catheter or urinary stent device includes a urinary catheter or stent which, in a deployed position, includes or defines a protective surface area and a protected surface area and a coating upon at least a portion of the protective surface area. The coating includes a lubricant and an antimicrobial and/or pH buffering material. The device is configured such that, upon application of negative pressure to the catheter or stent, tissue of a urinary tract of a patient conforms or collapses onto the protective surface area and is thereby prevented or inhibited from occluding one or more protected drainage holes, ports or perforations of the catheter or stent.

Urinary catheters and methods for preventing bacterial infections.