CATHETER

Abstract

A multilumen catheter for vascular applications comprises posterior and distal ends and at least one first and second lumens extending between the posterior and distal ends of the catheter. Each lumen comprises an outer wall structure and are separated from each other by an inner wall structure, wherein said outer wall and inner wall structures form said lumens. The catheter has an activated state and inactivated state, wherein in said inactivated state the diameter or volume of the lumen determined by said outer wall and inner wall structures is smaller than the diameter or volume of the lumen in said activated state.

Claims

1. A catheter having posterior and distal ends, and comprising: at least first and second lumens extending between the posterior and distal ends of the catheter, wherein each lumen comprises an outer wall structure and wherein said lumens are separated from each other by at least one inner wall structure, wherein said outer wall and inner wall structures form said lumens.

2. The catheter of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second lumens comprises an activated state and inactivated state, wherein in said inactivated state a diameter or a volume of the lumen determined by said outer wall and inner wall structures is smaller than the diameter or volume in said activated state.

3. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the outer wall structure of at least one of said first and second lumens is compressible and flexible so that the at least one of said first and second lumens is compressed in said inactivated state.

4. The catheter of claim 2, wherein the outer wall structure of at least one of said first and second lumens is foldable so that the at least one of said first and second lumens is folded in said inactivated state and at least partly unfolded in said activated state.

5. The catheter of claim 2, wherein at least one of said first and second lumens is in said inactivated state when no external or internal force is applied.

6. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the outer wall structure of the all first and second lumens is a common outer wall structure for the first and second lumens.

7. The catheter of claim 6, wherein the common outer wall structure for the first and second lumens is made of the same material.

8. The catheter claim 1, wherein the inner or outer wall structure of the first lumen comprises first material and the inner and/or outer wall structure of the second lumen comprises second material, wherein elasticity or other material property of said first and second material differs from each other.

9. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the catheter comprises a guiding lumen extending between the posterior and distal ends of the catheter, through which a guide wire can be introduced to guide the catheter during operations.

10. The catheter of claim 9, wherein the guiding lumen is one of the second lumens.

11. The catheter of claim 9, wherein the guiding lumen comprises a non-compressible wall structure.

12. The catheter claim 9, wherein the wall structure of the guiding lumen is flexible and bendable and steerable, wherein the guiding lumen is configured to be bend in its distal end so that the all the other lumens follow the bending of the guiding lumen.

13. The catheter of claim 9, wherein all the first and second lumens are arranged around the guiding lumen so that the guiding lumen locates at the center of said catheter.

14. The catheter of claim 9, wherein the guiding lumen locates at a peripheral region of the catheter.

15. The catheter of claim 2, wherein at least one of said lumen is configured to change the state from the inactivated state to the activated state when an object is introduced through the one lumen and then change or collapse the state back to or towards the inactivated state when the object has passed through the one lumen.

16. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the first lumen has a first maximum diameter or volume and the second lumen, a second maximum diameter or volume in an activated state, wherein the first maximum diameter or volume differs from said second maximum diameter or volume.

17. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the catheter comprises a valve in the proximal end for closing at least one lumen thereby preventing backflow or leakage or other transportation of fluids, including air, via the lumen between the posterior and distal ends.

18. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the catheter comprises a radiopaque member in the distal end.

19. The catheter of claim 1, wherein at least one lumen comprises an y-connector with a luer lock in order to flush the lumen.

20. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the first lumen has a first length and the second lumen has a second length, where said first and second lengths differ from each other or wherein the distal ends of the first and second lumens are at the different depths or non-aligned.

21. A manufacturing method for manufacturing a catheter where the catheter comprises posterior and distal ends, wherein manufacturing method of the catheter comprises: providing at least one outer wall structure defining an outer perimeter of the catheter between the posterior and distal, and at least one inner wall structure for defining at least one first and second lumens extending between the posterior and distal ends of the catheter so that said at least one first and second lumens are separated from each other by said inner wall structure and limited by the outer wall structure.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Next the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to exemplary embodiments in accordance with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0026] FIGS. 1-13 illustrate examples of catheters according to advantageous embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] FIGS. 1-13 illustrate examples of catheters 100 according to advantageous embodiments of the invention, wherein the catheter 100 comprises at least first 101 and second 102, 103 lumens extending between posterior 100A and distal 100B ends of the catheter 100. It is to be noted, that the catheter may have plurality of lumens, as is described e.g. in FIG. 9. Each lumen 101, 102, 103 comprises an outer wall structure 105 and are separated from each other by an inner wall structure 106.

[0028] As can be seen in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, 4-5, 7 and 9-13, the catheter 100 may also comprise a guiding lumen 104, which extends between the posterior 100A and distal 100B ends of the catheter, and through which a guide member (not shown) can be introduced to guide the catheter during operations. The guiding lumen 104 is advantageously flexible and bendable and in particularly it is configured to be bend in its distal end 100B. When the all other lumens 101-103 are coupled with the guiding lumen (advantageously via the wall structures 105, 106 of them), the all other lumens 101-103 will follow the guiding lumen 104 when the guiding lumen 104 is bend or otherwise moved.

[0029] However, the separate guiding lumen 104 is an optional and according to an embodiment the catheter 100 can also be implemented only with the at least one first and second lumens 101-103, as is the case in FIGS. 3, 6 and 8. In these examples one of the first and second lumens 101-103 can be used for guide members, if needed.

[0030] FIGS. 4-6 illustrate different states of the catheter 100. For example in FIG. 4 the second lumen 103 is in an inactivated state (108 in FIG. 8), wherein the diameter d.sub.2 or volume V.sub.2 of the second lumen 103 determined by the outer wall and 105 inner wall 106 structures is smaller than illustrated in FIG. 5, where the second lumen 103 is in an activated state (107 in FIG. 6) and has greater the diameter d.sub.1 or volume V.sub.1. In FIGS. 4 and 5 the first lumen 101 is in an activated state, whereas another second lumen 102 is in an inactivated state in both FIGS. 4 and 5. In FIG. 7 all first and second lumens 101, 102, 103 are in the inactivated state.

[0031] FIG. 6 illustrates a situation where the first lumen 101 is in the activated state 107 with volume V.sub.1, and FIG. 8 a situation where the first lumen 101 is in the inactivated state 108 with volume V.sub.2 being smaller than the volume with volume V.sub.1 in the activated state 107. It is to be noted that the catheter 100 illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8 does not have any separate guiding lumen 104, but one of the first or second lumen 101-103 can be used for guide member.

[0032] The outer wall structure 105 of the all first and second lumens 101-103 may be physically a common outer wall structure 105 for the first and second lumens 101-103, as is the case for example in FIGS. 1-3 and 9, or alternatively at least one of the first and second lumens 101-103 may have own outer wall structure 105, as is the case for example in FIGS. 4-8.

[0033] In addition, according to an embodiment the catheter comprises a closing member 109, such as a valve, for closing and opening at least one lumen 101-103. The closing member 109 may locate for example in the posterior 100A end for preventing any backflow or leakage or other unwanted transportation of fluids, including air, via the lumen(s) between the posterior 100A and distal 100B ends when closed.

[0034] Still in addition the catheter 100 may comprise a radiopaque member 110, advantageously at least in the distal end 100B of the catheter. Furthermore, the catheter 100 may comprise also a y-connector with a luer lock 111 or the like in order for allowing flushing or rinsing possibility.

[0035] FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary catheter 100, where the distal ends 100B of the first and second lumens 101, 102, 103 are at different depths or non-aligned, whereupon much more space is left into the distal end area 100B of the catheter 100. It is to be noted that the lumens 101, 102, 103 are advantageously of different lengths, but may also be same lengths.

[0036] FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrates still one example of the catheter according to an embodiment of the invention, where the guiding lumen 104 is steerable lumen. The steerable lumen comprises advantageously at least one flexible portion 112 so that the steerable lumen can be controlled to take the curved shape at the point of said flexible portion 112 to the direction where the flexible portion 112 locates. The flexible portion 112 can be achieved by a cutting, in particularly a laser cutting, for example, or achieved by material weakening.

[0037] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of the catheter how to control the formation of the curved shapes. The catheter, and in particularly the steerable lumen, may for example comprise an operating wire 113 (or the like) arranged to elongate between the proximal and distal ends of the steerable lumen and along a side to which said curved shape is to be provided so advantageously the same side where the flexible portion 112 is provided.

[0038] The distal end of the steerable lumen comprises advantageously a reinforcement ring 114 to which said the operating wire 113 is coupled with. Thus, when the operating wire 113 is tightened advantageously from the proximal end of the steerable lumen, it will cause the distal end of the steerable lumen to bend to that direction. When the steerable lumen 104 is bend in its distal end 101B, all the other lumens are configured to follow the bending of the steerable lumen.

[0039] The flexible portion can be for example a cutting, such as for example a laser cutting, but also other techniques can be used, such as material weakening, like thinning the wall of the introducer inside the curve. According to embodiment also memory materials can be used.

[0040] In addition, it is to be noted that when the operating wire 113 is coupled to the reinforcement ring 114 in an angle 115, the tightening of the operating wire 113 will also tilt or bank the distal end of the steerable lumen in question to the downward direction, as depicted in FIGS. 11-12, for example.

[0041] The invention has been explained above with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, and several advantages of the invention have been demonstrated. It is clear that the invention is not only restricted to these embodiments, but comprises all possible embodiments within the spirit and scope of the inventive thought and the following patent claims.

[0042] The features recited in dependent claims are mutually freely combinable unless otherwise explicitly stated.