Method of making a balloon catheter shaft having high strength and flexibility

1. A method of making a balloon catheter having an elongated shaft and a balloon on a distal shaft section, comprising:

a) melt-extruding a thermoplastic polymeric material having a Shore durometer hardness of less than about 75D to form a tube having a lumen, a first inner diameter and a first outer diameter, and cooling the extruded tube to a temperature less than an elevated temperature of the melt-extrusion;

b) placing the extruded tube within a capture member and biaxially orienting the polymeric material of the extruded tube by radially expanding the extruded tube with pressurized media in the tube lumen and axially expanding the extruded tube with a load applied on at least one end of the tube; and

c) cooling the expanded tube to room temperature, the cooled, expanded tube being a biaxially oriented nonporous thermoplastic polymer tubular member; and

d) sealingly securing a balloon to a distal end of the tubular member, such that the tubular member forms at least a portion of the catheter shaft and the balloon has an interior in fluid communication with the tubular member lumen.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the extruded tube is heated to the expansion elevated temperature with a heating nozzle traversing along a length of the extruded tube.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the capture member comprises a metallic tube having a lubricious polymeric inner liner, and the pressurized media is a gas at an elevated pressure sufficient to radially expand the extruded tube into contact with an inner surface of the capture member without increasing an outer diameter of the capture member.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the capture member has a uniform inner diameter configured to radially restrain the expanding extruded tube at a second outer diameter, such that the second outer diameter is uniform along the length of the expanded tube.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the extruded tube is cooled to room temperature after extrusion and before the radial and axial expansion of the extruded tube.

6. The method of claim 1 including heat stabilizing the extruded tube before cooling by heating the extruded tube to an elevated temperature sufficient to stabilize the polymeric material of the extruded tube.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the extruded tube is heat stabilized on a mandrel.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the polymeric material is a polyether block amide, and the heat stabilization comprises heating the expanded tube at about 100 to about 140° C., for about 10 to about 15 minutes.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the tubular member is extruded to the first outer diameter of about 0.021 to about 0.023 inches, and the first inner diameter of about 0.004 to about 0.006 inches.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic polymeric material has a Shore durometer hardness of between about 55D and about 75D.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic polymeric material has a Shore durometer hardness of about 63D.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extruded tube has a maximum blow-up-ratio and the extruded tube is radially expanded to at least 80% of the maximum blow-up-ratio.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extruded tube is radially expanded such that the expanded tube has a second inner diameter which is at least about 5 times greater than the first inner diameter of the extruded tube.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extruded tube is simultaneously radially and axially expanded.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extruded tube is sequentially radially and axially expanded.

16. A method of making a balloon catheter having an elongated shaft and a balloon on a distal shaft section, comprising:

a) melt-extruding a thermoplastic polymeric material having a Shore durometer hardness of less than about 75D to form a tube having a lumen, a first inner diameter and a first outer diameter, and cooling the extruded tube to a temperature less than an elevated temperature of the melt-extrusion;

b) placing the extruded tube in a lumen of a capture member and biaxially orienting the polymeric material of the extruded tube, by radially expanding the extruded tube with pressurized media in the tube lumen and axially expanding the extruded tube with a load applied on at least one end of the tube;

c) cooling the expanded tube to room temperature, the cooled, expanded tube being a biaxially oriented nonporous thermoplastic polymer tubular member, which forms at least a portion of the catheter shaft and which has a Shore durometer hardness of less than about 75D, a Gurley bending stiffness of not greater than about 50 to about 150 mg, a rupture pressure of at least about 20 to about 50 atm, and a tensile strength of at least about 1 to about 5 lbf; and

d) sealingly securing a balloon to a distal end of the tubular member such that the balloon has an interior in fluid communication with the tubular member lumen and a rated burst pressure which is significantly less than the rupture pressure of the shaft tubular member and which is at least about 14 atm.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the thermoplastic polymeric material has a Shore durometer hardness of between about 55D and about 75D.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the thermoplastic polymeric material has a Shore durometer hardness of about 63D.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the extruded tube has a maximum blow-up-ratio and the extruded tube is radially expanded to at least 80% of the maximum blow-up-ratio.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the extruded tube is radially expanded such that the expanded tube has a second inner diameter which is at least about 5 times greater than the first inner diameter of the extruded tube.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein the extruded tube is simultaneously radially and axially expanded.

22. The method of claim 16 , wherein the extruded tube is sequentially radially and axially expanded.