Vascular re-entry catheter
A catheter has a guide-tip including at least one wing for crossing a CTO lesion in an artery via exploring the subintimal space. The catheter can includes one or more exit port(s) and radiopaque marker(s) for steering a re-entry wire through one of the exit ports. The catheter may include a number of spiral-cut sections with varying characteristics to provide different strength and flexibility along the axial direction.
1. A catheter device comprising:
a distal tube portion having a longitudinal axis and a tube wall comprising at least one side port; and
a guide tip mounted on the distal tube portion, the guide tip defining:
a unitary body having an outer wall, and
a plurality of fixed wings that are an integral part of the unitary body and immovable with respect thereto, wherein each wing extends radially outward from a portion of the outer wall, and wherein each wing defines an edge co-planar with a distal-most end of the guide tip, wherein the catheter device includes at least one spiral-cut section, and wherein the at least one side port is located in the spiral-cut section and includes a rim not breached by a spiral cut.
2. A catheter device comprising:
a distal tube portion having a longitudinal axis and a tube wall comprising at least one side port; and
a guide tip mounted on the distal tube portion, the guide tip defining:
a unitary body having an outer wall, and
a plurality of fixed wings that are an integral part of the unitary body and immovable with respect thereto, wherein each wing extends radially outward from a portion of the outer wall, and wherein each wing defines an edge co-planar with a distal-most end of the guide tip, further comprising a radiopaque marker affixed on the distal tube portion in axial alignment with the at least one side port.
3. A catheter device comprising:
a distal tube portion having a longitudinal axis and a tube wall comprising at least one side port; and
a guide tip mounted on the distal tube portion, the guide tip defining:
a unitary body having an outer wall, and
a plurality of fixed wings that are an integral part of the unitary body and immovable with respect thereto, wherein each wing extends radially outward from a portion of the outer wall, and wherein each wing defines an edge co-planar with a distal-most end of the guide tip, further comprising a radiopaque marker encircling the at least one side port.
4. The catheter device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of wings defines an axial length smaller than an overall axial length of the guide tip.
5. The catheter device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of wings includes 4 or more equally-spaced wings.
6. The catheter device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one side port is radially offset from each of the plurality of wings.
7. The catheter device of claim 1 , wherein a height of each of the plurality of wings ranges from about 5% to about 50% of an outer diameter of the guide tip.
8. The catheter device of claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of wings defines an axial length smaller than an overall axial length of the guide tip.
9. The catheter device of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of wings includes 4 or more equally-spaced wings.
10. The catheter device of claim 2 , wherein the at least one side port is radially offset from each of the plurality of wings.
11. The catheter device of claim 2 , wherein a height of each of the plurality of wings ranges from about 5% to about 50% of an outer diameter of the guide tip.
12. The catheter device of claim 3 , wherein each of the plurality of wings defines an axial length smaller than an overall axial length of the guide tip.
13. The catheter device of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of wings includes 4 or more equally-spaced wings.
14. The catheter device of claim 3 , wherein the at least one side port is radially offset from each of the plurality of wings.
15. The catheter device of claim 3 , wherein a height of each of the plurality of wings ranges from about 5% to about 50% of an outer diameter of the guide tip.