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[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/415,607, filed Oct. 8, 1999, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/812,876, filed Mar. 6, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,623.
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to surgical device design and fabrication and, more particularly, to hollow medical wires used as guidewires, catheters, and the like, and methods of constructing same.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In the medical community, the continuing trend of less-invasive and noninvasive surgical techniques is driving the medical industry to explore new materials and processes for fabricating surgical instruments and devices having smaller size and better material properties. Examples of such instruments include angioplasty catheters incorporating balloons to dilate an occluded blood vessel. Other catheters are used to deploy stents or other types of therapeutic devices.
[0006] Because of the success and acceptance of procedures which utilize such catheters, new procedures are being developed which require variations and adaptations of previous catheter technology. For example, in the U.S., one of the more common applications for medical catheter technology is the “over-the-wire” balloon angioplasty catheter. In this application, the catheter is comprised of an elongate hollow body which has mounted on its distal end an inflatable therapy balloon. The catheter body in this case is typically constructed from a plastic material and is hollow (e.g., sometimes referred to as “microtubing”), both to supply inflation fluids to the balloon and to allow the catheter device to ride over a thin wire to the site to be treated. Thus, this medical device is referred to as an “over-the-wire” therapy catheter.
[0007] The thin wire over which the catheter rides is commonly referred to as a “guidewire,” obviously, because it guides the therapy balloon to the treatment location. Such medical guidewires are typically made from a solid construction, i.e., they are not normally hollow since they do not need to carry fluids to the therapy site. Such medical wires can be adapted to guide other types of therapy devices well, such as stents, atherectomy devices, laser devices, ultrasound devices, drug delivery devices, and the like.
[0008] Another type of balloon angioplasty device is referred to as a “single operator” balloon catheter. More common in Europe, this type of device rides along a guidewire with only a short section of the device (i.e., the “single operator”) actually riding completely over with the guidewire.
[0009] Another type of therapy balloon device which does not require a guidewire is referred to as a “balloon-on-a-wire” or a “fixed-wire balloon” catheter. The body of the catheter in this case is typically a hollow metallic wire (e.g., a “hypotube”) or plastic wire, providing inflation fluid to the balloon mounted on the distal end. This type of therapy balloon device is less common in the U.S., being used in about less than 5% of the angioplasty procedures which are performed, compared with both over-the-wire and single operator type therapy balloon catheters which are used about 70% and 25% of the time, respectively.
[0010] In order to successfully perform the desired therapy using present catheter technology, there are a number of functional requirements which guidewires must exhibit. These are, not in any particular order of importance, as follows: pushability; trackability; torqueability; flexibility; and handleability. To the extent that a medical guidewire (or a guiding catheter or another similar guiding devices) exhibits one or more of these functional characteristics, it is more likely to be successful, both medically and commercially.
[0011] Pushability refers to the ability of a medical guidewire to be efficiently and easily pushed through the vasculature of the patient without damage thereto, but also without getting hung up, blocked, kinked, etc. Excessive force should not be necessary. The relative stiffness or rigidity of the material from which the wire is made is a key mechanical feature of the wire, at least with respect to its pushability. That is, the wire must be stiff enough to be successfully and efficiently pushed through the vessels to the treatment site, but not too stiff to cause damage. Likewise, a guidewire that is not sufficiently stiff or rigid will suffer “prolapse.” This condition occurs when the wire bends over on itself or strays down a branching vessel without progressing to its intended site. Thus, a wire that is too limp lacks sufficient strength to have good pushability characteristics, which are important in virtually all guidewire applications.
[0012] Trackability, in the case of guidewires, refers to the ability of the wire to have another device, such as a therapy catheter, efficiently pushed over it to a particular location. Thus, this is also an important feature of catheters which must also “track” efficiently over a guidewire. Time is usually of the essence with respect to many noninvasive therapy procedures since the blood flow of the patient may be interrupted partially or wholly, during such therapy. In addition, there are often a number of “exchanges” during such procedures in which one over the wire device is removed and replaced with another—both riding on the same guidewire. Thus, the ability of the guidewire to provide good tracking characteristics is important to the success of the wire. Again, the stiffness of the wire plays an important role in its trackability characteristics. Also, the lubricity of the material from which the wire is made will enhance its trackability by reducing frictional forces.
[0013] Torqueability refers to the ability of a medical wire to be accurately turned or rotated. It is often important, in traversing bends or turns, that the wire be rotated into a certain position. Ideally, a guidewire should exhibit 1:1 torqueability characteristics; for example, a one-quarter turn by the physician at the proximal end should result in precisely a one-quarter turn in the wire at the distal end. As one may expect, such ideal torqueability is very difficult to achieve in present medical wire technology.
[0014] Flexibility is another important characteristic of medical wires. It relates to the ability of the wire to follow a tortuous path, i.e., winding and bending its way through the tight turns of a patient's vasculature. Small radius turns are found especially in the coronary arteries. Furthermore, diseased blood vessels become even more tortuous. For example, if plastic deformation in the wire results from traversing smaller, tight radius turns, the rigidity of the wire will be reduced. In addition, due to the permanent deformation, the straightness of the material is lost. It is therefore more likely to kink or possibly even break. Moreover, if the distal tip is bent, upon rotation, an injurious effect known as “whipping” occurs as the distal tip of the wire beats against the inner wall of the vessel. Thus, the ability of a guidewire to traverse such tortuous paths without kinking, deformation, or damage to the vessel walls, is very important.
[0015] The handleability of medical wire relates to its feel during use. Especially important are reduced functional characteristics, such that the physician can actually “feel” the tip as it is manipulated (including both torquing and pushing) from the proximal end. The therapeutic procedures using such wires require precise accuracy; thus, the movements of the wire must be smooth, controllable, and consistent. This is especially difficult to achieve in consideration of the long lengths of the wires (approximately 100 cm or more), and the fact that large sections remain outside the body while other sections are in the body and more or less hidden from view. Thus, it is important for the wire to be readily handled by the physician without kinking or requiring excessive forces or awkward movements.
[0016] It will also be noted that present guidewire technology also faces the challenge of extremely small dimensions. For example, guidewires used in therapeutic procedures performed in peripheral vessels often have an outer diameter of about 0.035 inches to around 0.038 inches. Wires used in connection with the coronary arteries are even smaller, ranging from 0.014 inches to 0.018 inches OD. Some devices even utilize guidewires with outer diameters of 0.009 inches. With these extremely small dimensions, it is very difficult to maintain the functional requirements for medical guidewires as outlined above.
[0017] Moreover, medical guidewires should also meet a number of structural requirements. The straightness of the wire is very important. If it is not as straight as possible, many functional features are lost, including most significantly the risk of damage to the vessel. Moreover, the roundness of the wire contributes to its accurate torqueability. Consistent wall thickness, lubricity, and many other structural and dimensional characteristics also play an important role.
[0018] In order to achieve these functional and structural characteristics, various materials have been proposed for the construction of the medical guidewires of the prior art. For the most part, elastic materials such as stainless steel have heretofore been used. Other so-called “superelastic materials” have also been utilized. Elasticity in a material is its ability to recover strain after deformation. High elasticity (or “super elasticity”) therefore refers to the ability of the material to undergo deformation and to return to its original configuration without being permanently or “plastically” deformed. When such permanent or plastic deformation occurs, the structural integrity of the material is diminished (e.g., it loses, to some degree, its rigidity, and/or torqueability), and it assumes a new configuration (sometimes referred to as the “permanent set”) from which subsequent loading begins. Moreover, the plastic deformation of a superelastic material may be accelerated through a number of cyclical deformations, sometimes referred to as fatigue. Such cyclical deformations can occur if the wire experiences a number of tight turns, such as is possible in the coronary arteries. Such superelastic materials include a variety of nickel titanium (NiTi) alloys, commonly referred to as “nitinol,” and other alloys exhibiting similar properties such as Cu-Zn-Mn and Fe-Mn-Si ternary alloys.
[0019] In medical guidewire applications, probably the most common of elastic materials is stainless steel. It provides good stiffness characteristics to supply desired pushability and torqueability. However, superelastic materials, including nitinol have also been suggested for medical wire applications. Although such elastic and superelastic materials provide acceptable results for typical applications, there is a need for more versatile and functional guidewires, especially as new therapeutic procedures are developed. In particular, there is a need for hollow medical guidewires which provide a lumen for inflation fluids, drug-delivery, device deployment and the like. As compared to the standard solid construction, such a hollow guidewire would provide much greater functionality or performance.
[0020] However, the challenges facing catheter designers today are greatly magnified in the case of a hypotube (even those made from a superelastic material) used to construct hollow guidewires. Furthermore, the adverse conditions experienced in actual practice may have a deleterious effect on the functional characteristics of the hollow wires, particularly those having extremely small diameters and thin wall thicknesses. For medical wire applications, such adverse conditions would include primarily the need to cyclically traverse a number of highly tortuous turns. This bending and twisting may result in plastic deformation which tests the true superelasticity of the material from which the wires are constructed. As a result, patients may suffer certain injuries, the full effects of which may not be known for years.
[0021] The aforementioned needs are satisfied by the medical wire device of the present invention which provides a highly versatile, efficient apparatus for performing angioplasty and other therapeutic procedures. In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a catheter having an elongate hollow body and a distally mounted occlusion device, preferably an occlusion balloon. The catheter body, which serves as a guidewire, comprises a hypotube constructed from a specially selected superelastic nitinol material. The nitinol material exhibits unique non-linear characteristics which provide unexpectedly high guidewire performance features. Moreover, because it is a hollow guidewire, the present catheter can deliver deployment media to the distal occlusion device, or assist in many other functions such as irrigation, drug delivery, and the like.
[0022] Thus, it will understood that the terms “catheter” and “guidewire,” as used herein with reference to the medical device of the present invention are not to be limiting in any respect to their construction, materials, or functions, since the principals of the present invention are applicable to a wide variety of medical devices. The distal end of the catheters also provide it with a soft tip in order to avoid injury to the patient. Moreover, the body of the catheter, just proximal the occlusion balloon, is provided with a series of spaced radial radiopaque markers in order to provide visible reference points for the physician within the working space.
[0023] In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a catheter of similar construction in which the superelastic nitinol body does not necessarily serve as a guidewire. In yet another embodiment, the present invention comprises a composite medical wire device in which the wire is only partially constructed from the preferred non-linear superelastic nitinol material. In this embodiment, in order to achieve certain advantageous performance characteristics, the material may be joined with other materials (such as stainless steel, polymers or plastics, etc.) so as to be utilized for a given application. In a preferred embodiment, the distal section is constructed from the special nitinol material in order to achieve superior performance in softness and elasticity, but other sections may be formed from this material as well. In addition to such composite devices, the elongate body of the catheter can be internally constructed from the preferred nitinol material and then covered with a bilayer of stainless steel to form a concentric construction. Likewise, special heat treatments can be applied to the distal section to provide it with superior softness and flexibility. Also, such flexibility can be achieved through tapering to very small wall thicknesses. Thus, it will be understood that the principals of the present invention can be applied to medical wires of all types, partially or wholly metallic, hollow or nonhollow, etc., which may be used alone or in combination with other devices including therapeutic devices.
[0024] The preferred superelastic medical wire comprises a Ni-Ti (nitinol) binary alloy having a nickel content between 50.0% and 51.5% by atomic weight, and preferably about 50.8%. The wire material can also be selected from a group of nitinol family ternary alloys comprising of Ni-Ti-V, Ni-Ti-Co, Ni-Ti-Cu, Ni-Ti-Cr, Ni-Ti-Nb, Ni-Ti-Pd or from a group of non-nitinol ternary alloys comprising Fe-Mn-Si. A catheter or guidewire of the present invention constructed from the selected nitinol material exhibits outstanding performance characteristics. However, in addition, due to the special character of this material, the present invention wire devices also exhibit important characteristics of high recoverable strain and low modulus. Thus, recoverable strains in the range of about 1% to about 8% are feasible. This allows the present medical wire device to undergo high deformation without plastically deforming, a characteristic which is especially important in the case of thin-walled hollow hypotubes.
[0025] At the same time, due to the low modulus characteristics of the material, low stresses are induced as the device traverses the tortuous paths of the vasculature of the patient. Because of the low stress forces, reduced frictional forces are experienced; thus, the medical wire device of the present invention provides excellent handleability and “feel” for the physician. In addition, there is reduced risk of injury. Moreover, in one embodiment, the nitinol material undergoes special heat treatment in order to achieve transformational effects. In this case, substantially constant stresses are maintained over a wide range of recoverable strains, improving even further the performance of the device.
[0026] Thus, in one embodiment, the present invention comprises a medical guidewire having an elongate body with distal and proximal sections. The body is constructed at least partially from a non-linear, superelastic nickel titanium alloy material having a nickel content in the range of about 50% to 51.5% atomic weight. The distal section of the body receives heat treatments in the range of 300° C.-600° C. for about 10 seconds to 60 minutes such that the material has recoverable strains in the range of about 1% to about 8%. The device also is provided with an occlusion device mounted on its distal section, and a lumen formed in the elongate body for communicating fluids from the proximal section to the distal section of the body. A passageway is formed through the distal section to communicate said fluids to the occlusion device.
[0027] In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a medical catheter having an elongate body and having distal and proximal sections. The body is constructed from a nickel titanium alloy material having a nickel content in the range of 50.0%-51.5% by atomic weight. At least the distal section of the body is constructed from a transformational nickel titanium alloy material exhibiting substantially constant stress over a range of recoverable strain from about 1% to about 8%. The device is also provided with a balloon mounted on its distal section and a lumen formed in the elongate body for communicating fluids from the proximal section to the distal section of the body. A passageway is formed through the distal section to communicate fluids to the balloon.
[0028] In yet another embodiment, present invention comprises a medical wire having an elongate body with distal and proximal sections. At least the distal section is partially constructed from a nickel titanium alloy material having substantially constant stress values over a range of recoverable strains from about 1% to about 8%. The proximal section is constructed from a second material having a modulus which is different for a given strain than the alloy material.
[0029] In yet another embodiment, the present invention comprises a medical wire having an elongate body comprising a hollow non-linear superelastic nickel titanium alloy material having recoverable strain in the range of 1% to at least 8%.
[0030] These and other advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0031]
[0032]
[0033]
[0034]
[0035]
[0036]
[0037]
[0038]
[0039]
[0040]
[0041]
[0042]
[0043]
[0044] FIGS.
[0045] As will be described hereinbelow the apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention is a catheter apparatus for treatment of stenosis in a lumen in a blood carrying vessel. Although the catheter includes a hollow medical guidewire as illustrated and described, it will be understood that the principles of the present invention apply equally to other types of medical wires and catheters.
[0046] Hollow Medical Guidewires
[0047] As shown in FIGS.
[0048] Preferably, the proximal end
[0049] As shown in
[0050]
[0051] With occlusion guidewires
[0052] In order to provide the physician with an ability to detect and rectify such movement, a series of radiopaque markers are formed on the body of the guidewire
[0053] Such markers
[0054] Non-linear Superelastic Nitinol
[0055] In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the elongated body member
[0056] Although there are literally thousands of superelastic nitinol and stainless steel materials, their elasticity alone does not provide ideal performance in a medical wire. For example, there are many superelastic nitinol and stainless steel materials which, if formed into a medical wire, are too rigid or too limp to provide good performance characteristics, i.e., their modulus of elasticity is either too high or too low, respectively. Thus, it has been discovered that there is a category of nitinol materials having structural and mechanical characteristics, besides superelasticity, which make them particularly suitable for medical wire applications. However, in order to fully appreciate these characteristics, a basic understanding of nickel titanium alloys and their construction is helpful.
[0057] Ni-Ti alloys or nitinol alloys are the most important of the shape memory alloys (SMA). Such materials can adjust their properties and shape according to changes in their environment, specifically changes in applied stress and temperature. In this respect, nitinol alloys can change their shape by strains greater than 8% and adjust constraining forces by a factor of 5 times. The scientific foundations of the shape memory effect is well known in the art.
[0058] Superelasticity refers to the ability of a material to reversibly transform its crystal structure and shape in order to relieve applied stresses so that the material can undergo large elastic deformations without the onset of plastic deformation. This superelasticity, often referred to as transformational superelasticity, exhibits itself as the parent crystal structure of the material as it transforms into a different crystal structure. In superelastic materials the parent crystal structure or the phase is known as the austenitic phase and the product crystal structure is known as the martensitic phase. Such formed martensite is termed stress induced martensite.
[0059] As will be explained more fully hereinbelow, superelastic characteristics of the nitinol alloys can be best viewed by the stress strain diagrams obtained from various mechanical testing methods such as tensile tests, torsion tests, bending tests or compression tests. Among these methods, the tensile test emerges as the most common mechanical testing method. In particular, tensile tests provide very useful information about both the type of deformation and the amount of deformation that a test sample undergoes under an applied stress. In this respect,
[0060] As shown in
[0061] During transformational superelastic behavior, under the applied stress the curve
[0062] This is very important in the field of angioplasty since one can engineer a catheter apparatus to deliver a physiologically ideal stress and rely on the fact that this stress will be held constant throughout the angioplasty application. This superelastic behavior forms a loading plateau
[0063] Still referring to
[0064] During the course of unloading, the martensitic phase is first unloaded along the linear portion
[0065] As also shown in
[0066] The difference in elastic deformation behavior for the transformational and non-transformational cases can be clearly seen in
[0067] Medical Wires
[0068] The medical wires of the present invention take advantage of particular non-linear superelastic nitinol characteristics to achieve better functional performance, especially in terms of flexibility and handleability. In addition, because of their ability to withstand permanent deformation, the present medical wires also demonstrate, in practice and under adverse conditions, improved characteristics of pushability, trackability, and torqueability, especially in comparison to previous superelastic and elastic wires. Thus, in addition to its superelasticity, the present medical wire also exhibits the following excellent characteristics: very high recoverable strain with virtually no permanent set; a relatively low modulus compared to other elastic materials; and some hysteresis in its unloading curve.
[0069] As noted above, superelasticity refers to the ability of a material to recover strain after deformation. However, under adverse medical conditions, such recovery is not only inhibited, but is very important in order to avoid injurious effects on the patient. The medical wire of the present invention advantageously recovers strain over a wide range of deformations, typically 1-8% and even 9-10% in some cases where there has been careful attention to the heat treatment of the wire material. This high recoverable strain characteristic in the present wire allows the wire to traverse a wide range of tortuous turns without plastic deformation, which of course would inhibit or destroy the performance of a wire.
[0070] This characteristic can be illustrated schematically with reference to
[0071] where:
[0072] ε=recoverable strain (%)
[0073] t=diameter of the hypotube
[0074] R
[0075] In this case, the radius of the bend is that which is illustrated in
[0076] For an elastic material, such as stainless steel, a typical recoverable strain for a hollow medical wire can be as high as 0.4%. If the medical tube has a diameter of 0.014″ (average), then the radius is 1.75″. This means that an elastic stainless steel wire having this maximum strain cannot bend around a turn having a radius smaller than 1.75″ without suffering plastic deformation. However, for the medical wire
[0077] Thus, it should be observed that the medical wire
[0078] This point can be illustrated in greater detail with the following discussion. Nitinol, in general, is used in certain medical wire applications because of its enhanced flexibility and corresponding kink resistance in comparison with stainless steel. Kinking greatly reduces the ability to push or steer a wire into the desired location, and also obviously reduces the ability to slide a catheter over the wire. Thus, the flexibility of nitinol, which derives generally from its low modulus, is an advantage in certain applications. Stainless steel, however, according to conventional thought, is more often selected for medical wire and catheter applications due to its enhanced torqueability and pushability characteristics. These characteristics are derived from the greater rigidity of stainless as compared to nitinol. From this perspective, therefore, the flexibility of nitinol can be considered a disadvantage, and indeed, many nitinol alloys are too flexible to perform well in connection with torqueability and pushability.
[0079] It can be demonstrated, on the other hand, that nitinol alloys which are carefully selected in accordance with the principles of the present invention can out perform stainless steel not only in terms of flexibility, but of torqueability and pushability as well. This is true for a wide range of recoverable strains, including, but not limited to those within the elastic limit of stainless steel (being about 0.4 to 0.6% in tension). It is especially true for strains beyond the elastic limit of stainless steel. It will be noted that, in bending, the elastic limit of a solid stainless steel wire may be slightly higher than the range quoted above (such as about 0.8%); although, in a tubular construction (e.g., a hypotube), the elastic limit of stainless may vary. Nevertheless, it has been demonstrated that the hollow medical wires and catheters of the present invention, constructed in accordance with the material selection criteria prescribed herein, provide excellent torqueability and pushability characteristics, as well as flexibility and kink resistance. Moreover, as an important aspect of the present invention, because the forces necessary to torque and to push the present nitinol wires and catheters are greatly reduced as compared to stainless steel, the present invention also demonstrates enhanced characteristics of handleability.
[0080] Thus, it has been demonstrated in torqueability tests that, under bending strain and in conditions of low wall friction, nitinol wires within the scope of the present invention come much closer to the ideal 1:1 than stainless steel wires of similar diameter. The wall friction, illustrated in
[0081] Likewise, it has been demonstrated that the forces to achieve torque in a nitinol wire are approximately five times less than those of stainless steel wires, both within and beyond the bending elastic limit of the stainless. This low force requirement makes the nitinol wire much easier to manipulate and provides greater handleability and “feel” for the physician.
[0082] With respect to pushability, likewise the forces for nitinol wires as compared to stainless are several times less, particularly beyond the elastic limit of the stainless undergoing bending strain. Overall, as noted above, the nitinol wires and catheters of the present invention provide enhanced characteristics over similar sized stainless wires and catheters not only in terms of flexibility, but also torqueability, pushability, and handleability.
[0083] In addition to the advantages of unexpectedly high recoverable strain, the medical wire of the present invention is also able to achieve other advantages by exhibiting a relatively low modulus. That is, for a given strain, the stress exhibited by the present medical wire
[0084] Perhaps an even more important advantage of these low modulus characteristics is the reduced frictional forces experienced by the wire as it courses through the vasculature of the patient. Because the frictional force is proportional to force and the area of contact against the wall of the vessel or guide catheter, such frictional forces are proportionally reduced as the force is reduced. Thus, the pushability and handleability of the present wire
[0085] Although stress values can be advantageously adjusted according to heat treatment or other post-construction condition, stress values in the range of 20-100 (Klbs. per square inch) (ksi) (150 MPa-750 MPa) have been found to be suitable for the present medical wire, at least at strains in the range of 2-6% or more.
[0086] Another advantageous characteristic of the present medical wire is its ability to generate an even lower stress upon unloading. That is, in contrast to the above discussion directed to low stress values upon loading (i.e., as the wire traverses a tight turn), the present wire exhibits even lower stress values as the wire completes the turn (i.e., during unloading). As soon as a length of the wire is sufficiently beyond a turn to allow it to straighten itself, it may be considered unloaded. Thus, the unloading portion of the stress strain curve in the present wire gives, for a given strain, the stress value induced in the material as it recovers its strain. As noted above, because of the hysteresis or the non-linearity of the present superelastic nitinol, unloading stress will be even less than that of the loading stress. Thus, the area under the unloading curve is sometimes referred to as the elastic or springback energy because it characterizes the forces experienced by the material as it returns to its original configuration. However, a high springback energy causes a whipping effect at the distal end. Thus, these lower unloading stresses contribute to the smooth handleability of the present wire.
[0087] These advantages of the present medical wire, which derive from the non-linear superelastic behavior of the particular nitinol alloys used therein, may be achieved through heat treating (annealing). However, although other condition methods can be utilized to achieve the present advantages, where careful attention is paid to the heat treatment of the wire, it can reach a unique stage of non-linear superelastic nitinol referred to as “transformational.” This is because the material actually undergoes a phase transformation during loading and unloading, as explained above. Such transformational superelastic nitinol provide additional advantages in connection with the medical wire of the present invention. For example, they exhibit a substantially higher recoverable strain in the range of 8-9%, as compared to 4-5% maximum recoverable strains with non-transformational nitinols. As explained in detail above, these higher recoverable strains achievable from the transformational material provides many functional advantages.
[0088] In addition, the corresponding stress levels of such transformational nitinols are in the range of 200-500 MPa. Under loaded conditions, the plateau stresses are preferably in the range of 300-500 MPa, while upon unloading the stresses are less, e.g. 80-400 MPa. Furthermore, the hysteresis of the unloading curve increases with greater deformation; thus, at about 7% strain, an unloading stress of about 200 MPa is preferred.
[0089] Moreover, an even lower modulus is achievable with such transformational nitinols. In fact, as noted above and illustrated in
[0090] Thus, an important aspect of the present invention is the selection of the proper non-linear superelastic nitinol sufficient to achieve the desired functional characteristics which are desired for a particular application. It should be noted that the selection of the appropriate non-linear material may vary depending on such desired characteristics and the various design tradeoffs which must be made. Thus, in a given application, a transformational non-linear nitinol may be selected versus a non-transformational type. That is, in an application where cyclical deformations are experienced, the resistance to fatigue-induced plastic deformations is an important functional characteristic. Thus, one may select a non-transformational type non-linear nitinol because of its narrower hysteresis and higher strength. On the other hand, where the material must undergo many cycles (about more than 100 cycles) better fatigue-resistant characteristics can be achieved with the transformational nitinols.
[0091] Likewise, as discussed below in more detail, a given medical wire may also be constructed so as to have characteristics of both transformational and non-transformational materials. For example, the proximal end of the medical wire may be constructed from a non-transformational nitinol to provide enhanced pushability and trackability characteristics, while the distal end of the same wire (say, in the range of the distal 2 to 15 cm) undergoes special conditioning in order to achieve a transformational state. Thus, the distal end will be softer and will exhibit the constant, reduced stress forces at even very high recoverable strains which are characteristic of non-transformational nitinols. Other advantages can be achieved with composite wires constructed from non-linear nitinols and stainless steel or other materials.
[0092] In the case of hollow medical hypotubes, special problems must be overcome. First, the trackability of the wire will be a challenge due to the reduced body mass. Thus, it is preferable to select materials with a higher loading plateau stress than solid wire. Secondly, the frictional characteristics of tubing will have to be addressed by applying friction reducing treatments. Third, the ductility of hypotubes must be addressed. Because of the reduced wall thickness, failure of the material is a risk. Greater resistance to failure can be achieved by heat treating at higher temperatures and less cold work. Finally, surface defects must be avoided because stress tends to localize at such nicks or indentations (it being recognized that such defects represent a large percentage of the surface wall thickness). Thus, careful inspection and selection of materials must be exercised such that the hypotube has defects of 15 microns or less.
[0093] As merely one example of a suitable non-linear superelastic nitinol, the catheter illustrated in FIGS.
[0094] In regard to material selection, it will be noted that the process of alloying, nickel and titanium is a well-established art for the production of nitinol; however, as noted above, there are many nitinol materials which may not supply the desired performance characteristics. Nevertheless, various types of nitinol materials which may be successfully used in the construction of the medical wires of the present invention are commercially available from companies such as Memry Corp. which provides one suitable nitinol material known as Tinel® Alloy BB.
[0095] Superelasticity in Ni-Ti alloys also depends on temperature. Martensitic or austenitic transformations start and finish at certain temperature ranges. Thermal or mechanical treatments in the history of the material may change these temperature ranges. In this respect Ms-temperature refers to temperature that martensitic transformation from austenite begins. At the Mf-temperature martensitic transformation finishes. Further, temperatures As and Af indicate the respective beginning and the end of austenitic reversion. However, as indicated before, the applied stress shifts these temperature ranges. In case of stress induced martensitic transformation, Md temperature is defined as the temperature above which stress-induced martensitic transformation cannot occur. It is understood by those skilled in the art, that superelastic properties can be observed at temperatures above Af and below Md. In fact fully superelastic effects are found over an even narrower range, typically only 10-40° C. in width.
[0096] Thus, for a given superelastic nitinol at room temperature, it will be noted that, at body temperature, the stress roughly increases according to the equation:
[0097] where ΔT is the temperature difference between the body and the room temperatures. Δδ is the amount of added stress due to the increase in temperature. For purposes of the present discussion, the superelasticity of nitinol is considered to be its state during use more or less at body temperature.
[0098] The alloy composition range
[0099] where, 3
[0100] Distal Section
[0101] The distal section
[0102] In one embodiment, the wall thickness of the distal portion
[0103] In another embodiment, the distal-end may be heat treated for a period of time to provide flexibility and softness. The heat-treatment reduces the force required to reach the elastic plateau
[0104] Manufacturing Process
[0105] In the manufacturing of the preferred embodiment, the alloy of the present invention can be made superelastic by facilitating various thermal and/or mechanical treatments. The alloy can typically be shaped into the hypotube
[0106] Following the cold work, the hypotube is preferably heat treated at a temperature range between 500 and 600° C. This heat treatment can preferably be done in a salt bath, such as potassium nitrate, or in a protective atmosphere, such as Argon gas, for 10 seconds to 60 minutes. In this embodiment, the heat treated hypotube
[0107] In another embodiment, the heat treatment can be performed at less than 500° C. This material can also have more than 6% superelasticity. However, the heat treatment temperature causes a significant shift in stress and transformation temperatures, Ms and As respectively. Particularly, lower heat treatment temperature increases the plateau stress. In this embodiment, the resulting material has a loading plateau stress of 550 MPa and an unloading plateau stress of 320 MPa. In this respect, Ms temperature is −75° C. and As temperature is −3° C.
[0108] During the manufacturing of hypotube
[0109] In another embodiment, following the cold work, a solution treatment above 500° C. and an aging process at relatively low temperatures, preferably 400° C., may be applied to the cold worked hypotube. In such solution treated and aged structure, the resulting material has a loading plateau stress of 300 MPa, unloading plateau stress of 100 MPa. This process also presents more than 6% recoverable strain.
[0110] In another embodiment, the material may only be cold worked and the cold working process is not followed by an annealing step. In this embodiment, the material superelasticity follows the hysteresis
[0111] The hypotube
[0112] Composite Wires and Methods of Construction
[0113] In manufacturing of the catheter apparatus
[0114] As illustrated in
[0115] Another method of joinder is illustrated in
[0116] As illustrated in
[0117] In some cases, the component sections of the composite wire may have equal or approximately equal diameters. In other cases, one section may have a diameter greater than the other. For example, in order to avoid a problem known as “scooping”, a composite guidewire may be constructed so as to have a proximal section OD of 0.035″ or 0.018″ (to allow certain therapy devices to ride thereover more efficiently) and a distal section of 0.014″ (to provide a narrow profile to cross the lesion).
[0118] Irrigation Catheters
[0119] The hollow guidewire of the present invention can be advantageously used to deliver fluids for specific medical applications including coronary and neurological applications. During the course of such applications, it is often essential to deliver fluids to specific locations within the body. This fluid delivery is carried out using irrigation catheters. Particularly, irrigation catheters serve as passage ways for delivery of fluids comprising either a contrast media to permit X-ray detection or other media to achieve localized drug therapy. However, if there is a balloon incorporated at the distal end this fluid may also comprise a fluid, such as saline, to inflate the balloon.
[0120] In prior applications, typical fluid delivery procedure incorporates the use of a guidewire in combination with the use of an irrigation catheter. In this type of combination system, the irrigation catheter simply rides over the guidewire to reach the desired body location. The diameter of this combination system is significantly larger than the external diameter of the guidewire itself. Therefore, such systems are bulky and have limited applications for especially narrow and tortuous vessels such as vessels within the brain.
[0121] As illustrated in FIGS.
[0122]
[0123] In this embodiment, the proximal end
[0124] The conduit
[0125]
[0126] As shown in
[0127] In applications, any pressure over this threshold pressure breaks open these membranes
[0128] Hence, although the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has shown, described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the detail of the apparatus and method as illustrated as well as the uses thereof, may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Consequently, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the foregoing discussions, but should be defined by the appended claims.