Catheter Shafts & Medical Tubing

Extrusions

Capabilities

• Single-lumen
• Multi-lumen
• Bump
• Co-extrusion
• 0.75", 1" and 1.5" size extruders
• Sizes from 0.008" to 0.300"

Materials

• Pebax®
• Polyamide (Nylon)
• Polycarbonate
• Polyurethane
• Polypropylene
• PEEK
• Polyethylene
• TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer)
• HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)
• PET (Polyethylene Terepthalate)
• Plus others

Filmcast Tubing

Process Overview

• Desired medium is cast over a wire (mandrel) to determine the ID of tube
• Done continuously onto a spool
• A layering process—determines the wall thickness and OD of tube
• After meeting the desired OD, the core wire is removed from the tube resulting in the final profile

Advantages

• Extremely thin walls
• Maximize ID to increase inner lumen space for interface with other devices
• Minimize OD for lower-profile design
• Precise dimensions
• Easy to create composite constructions with and without wire reinforcement
• Automated process for enhanced manufacturing efficiency

Filmcast PTFE Liners

• Advantages: Very lubricious, very thin walls
• ID: 0.006” - 0.090”
• Wall: 0.0005” - 0.0020”
• Modulus of Elasticity: 40-70 Ksi
• Supplied over silver-plated copper or annealed SS cores
• Supplied spooled or cut to length
• In-house Chemical etched ODs for bonding
• Can provide tie layers such as Tecoflex® and Pebax® for better bonding after reflow

Extruded Liners

• Advantages: Lubricious, very thin walls
• Materials: PFA, ETFE, FEP, Kynar®, Pebax®, Nylon, HDPE
• ID: 0.007” - 0.090”
• Wall: 0.0007” - 0.0020”
• Supplied over silver-plated copper or annealed SS cores
• Supplied spooled or cut to length
• In-house Chemical etched ODs for bonding
• Can provide tie layers such as Tecoflex® and Pebax® for better bonding after reflow

Polyimide Tubing

• Advantages: Rigid, thermoset, excellent dielectric properties, very thin walls
• ID: 0.002” - 0.150”
• Wall: 0.0003” - 0.010”
• Modulus of Elasticity: 450-600 Ksi
• Tensile Strength: 20,000 psi
• Thermal Range: -452 to 700ºF
• Dielectric Strength: 3500 to 4000 VDC
• Colors: Natural, Green, Red, Black

Braided Catheter Shafts

• 100+ production braiders (vertical and horizontal)
• 8W, 16W, and 32W configurations
• Embed up to 8 straight wires to minimize elongation
• Variety of braiding materials (examples: stainless steel for flexibility and crushability, polyester for non-metallic applications, tungsten for radiopacity)
• Variable pic-count designs to optimize the performance of the shaft
• Continuous or discrete pieces

Coiled Reinforced Catheters

• Coil OD: coiling to support 2 Fr - 36 Fr catheters
• Wire configurations:
  • Round wire sizes: As small as 0.0005”
  • Flat wire sizes:
    • Wire thickness: 0.0005” - 0.004"
    • Wire width: 0.0025” - 0.012"
• Variety of configurations including 1 - 8 filars, multiple layers, and multiple directions
• Stacked and open pitch configurations to align with desired performance characteristics
• Constant and tapered diameter options to match catheter geometry
• Available in stainless steel (other materials available upon request)

Thin-Walled Composite Tubing

Materials	Braid Sizes Stocked (SS304V)	OD Materials
PTFE	0.0003” x 0.0035”	Polyimide
Polyimide	0.0005” x 0.0025”	FEP
PTFE Doped Polyimide	0.0005” x 0.003”	Pebax®
FEP (extruded)	0.0007” x 0.003”	Tecoflex®
ETFE (extruded)	0.0007” x 0.005”	Vestamid®
PFA (extruded)	0.001” x 0.003”	Grilamid®
PEEK (extruded)	0.001” x 0.005”
Pebax® (extruded)	0.001” x 0.005”
Nylon (extruded)	0.0010” Round
Urethane (extruded)	0.0015” Round
HDPE (extruded)	0.0020” Round

Many other polymers and braid wire sizes and materials available upon request

Reflowed Shafts

Advantages

• Ability to incorporate various wall thickness, durometers, colors, support structures to optimize strength, kink-resistance, steerability, and torsion control of the catheter design
• All layers integrated together
• Accommodates a broad range of configurations:
  • OD: 2 Fr to 36 Fr
  • Lengths up to 150 cm

Variable Flexibility Shafts

• Patented technology allows variable stiffness across the catheter
• Selective coating of polyimide provides maximum stiffness at proximal end
• Transition: 0-1”
• Size Range: 1 Fr - 4 Fr
• Typical Construction:
  • PTFE liner
  • Braid
  • Polyimide (selective)
  • Outer jacket
• Advantage: variable flexibility at low cost, low profile, high performance
• Applications: microcatheters, support catheters, stone retrieval devices, and other small diameter devices