Catheter with variable tip opening

Kurzbeschreibung

The presented catheter has a tip that can be narrowed and expanded. Furthermore, the distal area can also be flattened, whereby the catheter tip can be applied to a vessel sealing.

Beschreibung/Hintergrund

In the case of vascular diseases such as stenoses, aneurysms or vascular occlusions, catheters are pushed through the vascular system to the site of the disease. Therapeutic measures can then be carried out through catheters. Thrombi, for example, can be captured by using special wires and pulled into the catheter, for which a wide opening of the catheter tip is an advantageous. However, in small vessels thrombi are difficult to trap with the microcatheters used to pull thrombi into the catheter because the catheter opening is too small. Also in treating aneurysms, it may be advantageous to open the catheter tip wider or to narrow it in order to provide better guidance for filling aneurysms with coils.

Lösung

An inventor of the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg has developed a catheter for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, which due to its variable tip opening makes it suitable for use in vascular systems. The catheter according to the invention is constructed as follows: It has an outer tube element and an inner tube element, each with a distal and a proximal end. The elements are flexibly connected at the distal end and arranged coaxially. By axial displacement relative to each other, the distal tip can be narrowed and widened. Furthermore, the distal area can also be flattened, allowing the catheter tip to be applied to a vessel. The arrangement of the two tubular elements creates an intermediate space, a distal region with a distal opening, an intermediate area, and a proximal area. The intermediate space and the outer tubular element are reinforced by a reinforcement layer, for example made of fabric or fibers, in the interior, thereby preventing transmission of axial Displacement results in deformation of the catheter tip. With the presented invention, a targeted local treatment of vascular occlusions and aneurysms can be made possible.