MICRO CATHETER AND GUIDEWIRE SYSTEM HAVING IMPROVED PUSHABILITY AND CONTROL

摘要

A microcatheter and guidewire system for use in tortuous regions of a vasculature includes a catheter body (14) having a distal end, a guidewire lumen (54), a proximal region (16) with an outer diameter. The ratio of the proximal region (16) outer diameter to the distal region (22) outer diameter is at least 1.625:1 to improve pushability of the catheter body (14). The guidewire lumen (54) defines a stopper (50) and the guidewire (12) has a depth stop (42) for engaging the stopper (50) of the guidewire lumen (54). The depth stop (42) and the stopper (50) cooperate to enable the guidewire (12) to cooperate with the catheter (14) to improve catheter (14) pushability. The depth stop (42) and the stopper (50) also prevent over extension of the guidewire (12).