Angiographic catheter with unitary body and tip sections and method for making same from a continuous feedstock

摘要

A method of manufacturing angiographic catheters comprises providing (1) a length of elastomeric tube of a predetermined outer diameter and braiding (2) multiple strands of wire wrapping about its exterior. A plastic bonding agent is extruded (3) onto selected areas or onto the entire length of the wire wrapping to bond the strands to each other. Thereafter, the wire wrapping is ground away (4) at predetermined spaced locations along the length of the elastomeric tube to provide a series of wire wrapped sections joined by non-wrapped sections. An elastomer layer is disposed (5) over both the wire wrapped sections and the non-wrapped sections throughout the length thereof. Subsequently, the coated length is severed into pieces with the pieces each constituting unitary construction including a wire wrapped section that forms a catheter body and a non-wrapped section joined to at least one end thereof to constitute a flexible catheter tip. The angiographic catheters formed thereby include a main body portion provided with wire braiding reinforcement and a soft flexible tip portion (39, 50) having no wire braiding disposed therein.