Microcatheter

Details Microcatheter Microcatheter

1997-01-30

1999-07-06

Coggins, Wynn Wood

Surgery

Means for introducing or removing material from body for...

Treating material introduced into or removed from body...

604280, A61M 500

Patent

active

059191716

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a microcatheter for infusion, which is inserted into fine peripheral blood vessels for diagnosis or treatment of blood vessels or internal organs.


BACKGROUND ART

Medical treatment in which a catheter inserted into a blood vessel transcutaneously is led to an internal organ such as a brain, a heart or some of abdominal organs to thus administer or infuse therethrough a proper curative drug, an embolismic substance or a contrast medium has been carried out. In recent years, in view of never-ending progress of medicine, it has become necessary to infuse such curative drug, embolismic substance or contrast medium into still finer peripheral blood vessels and now desired is development of a microcatheter which is capable of insertion into such finer peripheral blood vessels.
With a conventional catheter for infusion, it is a usual practice to have it led to an affected part along a guiding wire preset thereto.
Also developed is a method of making a tip portion of a catheter pliable and, if necessary, bulged so as to make the catheter movable on a blood stream. As a typical example of such catheter is Mallinckrodt Balt Magic Catheter (Trade Name) made by Mallinckrodt Medical Inc.
Meanwhile, as a catheter with a part of its shaft comprising a porous structure, there is exemplified, for example, a catheter with its tip portion made porous lest a blood vessel should be injured thereby, disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2-142576, an intra-abdominal retention tube made up of a porous part and a nonporous part for the improved adaptability to the form of the abdominal cavity, disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2-107268 for decreasing a risk of injury to the internal wall of the abdomen when it is retained in the abdominal cavity, a catheter made of polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) and comprising a porous part and a solid part such that a proper flexibility is attained, disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 60-51912. Also proposed are catheters by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 60-129055 and No. 61-247476, each with its normally open tip portion having micro-pores communicating the inside with the outside of a porous tube closed, and when a thrombus-dissolving agent is infused through a proximal portion and the infused agent is caused to be discharged gradually through the side wall of the porous tip portion.
The conventional catheter to be led to an affected part of a blood vessel by the use of a guiding wire is usable without any clinical problem if its outer diameter is relatively large (e.g. 1.5 to 4 mm). Its shaft is however is large in diameter and solid compared with a blood vessel, hence it is rather difficult to insert into fine peripheral blood vessels.
With the rapid development of diagnostic devices such as MRI and CT in the field of neurosurgery, blood vessel diseases (aneurysm, tumor, arteriovenous malformation etc.) in mesencephalic cerebral arteries, basilar artery, anterior communicating artery, posterior communicating artery, anterior cerebral artery, posterior cerebral artery etc. are now readily detectable. Craniotomy of blood vessel diseases in such parts is often infeasible depending on the parts affected due to too high physical burden on a patient or too high probability of complication and operation is possibly infeasible depending on the parts affected. It is, therefore, strongly desired lately to enable insertion of a microcatheter for infusion for detailed diagnosis and treatment. With a conventional catheter which can be readily inserted into common carotid artery, external carotid artery, internal carotid artery etc., it is often difficult to insert it into the peripheral portions thereof, the time required for insertion into such portions is likely too long and often such insertion is infeasible depending on the conditions of a patient.
The catheter moved on a blood stream has its pliable tip portion made of a polyurethane elastomer and a silicone rubber either alone or i

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