Delivery catheter

Abstract

A medical catheter for the transvascular deployment of a collapsible medical device such as a filter has a tubular body formed by an inner tubular core surrounded by an outer thin-walled tube which is fixed to the core. The outer thin-walled tube extends outwardly beyond a distal end of the core to form a fixed thin-walled medical device embracing pod. The filter is carried on a guidewire which is slidably engagable within a central lumen of the core and the filter can be collapsed against the guidewire for loading within the pod. With the filter thus loaded within the pod the distal end of the catheter can be maneuvered through a patient's vascular system to a desired deployment site where the filter is discharged from the pod allowing the filter to expand within the blood vessel for use filtering blood flowing through the blood vessel.

1 - 28 . (canceled)  
   
   
       29 . A medical catheter pack for a delivery system, the pack comprising: 
 a delivery system comprising: 
 a catheter comprising:  
 an elongate catheter tubular body having a proximal end and a distal end,  
 a tubular medical device embracing pod located at the distal end of the catheter tubular body for reception of the medical device, the pod being integrally formed with the catheter tubular body and including a thin-walled distal portion of the catheter tubular body of reduced wall thickness relative to a proximal portion of the catheter tubular body, and the pod having a greater flexibility than the proximal portion of the catheter tubular body, and  
 a deployer movable through the pod to move the medical device between a stored position within the pod and an in-use position externally of the pod;  
   an associated separate loading device which is operable to collapse the medical device from an expanded in-use position to a collapsed position for reception within the pod; and    a tray configured to releasably hold the pod of the catheter relative to the associated separate loading device in a cooperative juxtaposition on the tray.    
   
   
       30 . A pack as claimed in  claim 29  wherein the tray has a liquid retaining bath formed by a recess in the tray, the bath having a depth sufficient to accommodate in a totally submerged state the pod of the catheter and the medical device for submerged loading of the medical device into the pod.  
   
   
       31 . A pack as claimed in  claim 30  wherein the tray has a catheter holding channel communicating with the bath, the channel defining a pathway around the tray which supports the catheter in a loading position on the tray.  
   
   
       32 . A pack as claimed in  claim 31  wherein the catheter is held within the channel by a number of retainers spaced apart along the channel, each retainer comprising two or more associated projections which project inwardly from opposite side walls of the channel adjacent a mouth of the channel, the projections being resiliently deformable for snap engagement of the catheter within the channel behind the projections.  
   
   
       33 . A pack as claimed in  claim 31  wherein a ramp is provided at an end of the channel communicating with the bath to direct the pod of the catheter towards a bottom of the bath.  
   
   
       34 . A pack as claimed in  claim 33  including a step adjacent the channel configured to support the pod of the catheter above the bottom of the bath.  
   
   
       35 . A pack as claimed in  claim 30  wherein a recess provided within the bath supports the catheter loading device for engagement with the pod of the catheter to guide the medical device into the pod of the catheter.  
   
   
       36 . A pack as claimed in  claim 35  wherein said recess is located in a side wall of the bath for reception of a funnel with an outlet pipe of the funnel directed towards the channel for engagement with the pod of the catheter.  
   
   
       37 . A method for preparing a medical catheter for the transvascular deployment of a medical device, the method comprising the steps of: 
 providing a medical catheter comprising: 
 an elongate tubular body having a proximal end and a distal end,  
 a tubular medical device embracing pod located at the distal end of the catheter tubular body for reception of the medical device, the pod being integrally formed with the catheter tubular body and including a thin-walled distal portion of the catheter tubular body of reduced wall thickness relative to a proximal portion of the catheter tubular body, and the pod having a greater flexibility than the proximal portion of the catheter tubular body, and  
 a deployer movable through the pod to move the medical device between a stored position within the pod and an in-use position externally of the pod;  
   providing a loading device for collapsing the medical device from an expanded in-use position to a collapsed position for reception within the pod, the loading device having an inlet end and an outlet end;    engaging the outlet end of the loading device within the pod;    engaging the medical device with the deployer;    retracting the deployer proximally through the catheter tubular body, to draw the medical device through the loading device into the pod, thereby collapsing the medical device; and    disengaging the loading device from the pod.    
   
   
       38 . A method for deploying a medical device at a desired location in a vasculature, the method comprising: 
 providing a medical catheter comprising: 
 an elongate tubular body having a proximal end and a distal end, and  
 a tubular medical device embracing pod located at the distal end of the catheter tubular body for reception of the medical device, the pod being integrally formed with the catheter tubular body and including a thin-walled distal portion of the catheter tubular body of reduced wall thickness relative to a proximal portion of the catheter tubular body, and the pod having a greater flexibility than the proximal portion of the catheter tubular body;  
   loading the medical device into the pod of the medical catheter;    inserting the medical catheter into a vasculature and advancing the medical catheter through the vasculature until the pod is in a desired location; and    deploying the medical device from the pod at the desired location.    
   
   
       39 . A method as claimed in  claim 38  wherein the loading of the medical device into the pod includes engaging the medical device with a deployer and retracting the deployer proximally to draw the medical device into a loading device coupled to the pod.  
   
   
       40 . A method as claimed in  claim 39  wherein the loading device collapses the medical device from an expanded in use position to a collapsed position for reception within the pod.  
   
   
       41 . A method as claimed in  claim 40  wherein the loading device comprises a funnel having an enlarged inlet end and a narrowed outlet end, the outlet end being engagable within the pod.  
   
   
       42 . A method as claimed in  claim 38  wherein the medical device is deployed by moving the catheter tubular body proximally relative to the deployer.  
   
   
       43 . A method as claimed in  claim 38  including withdrawing the catheter tubular body from the vasculature after deploying of the medical device.  
   
   
       44 . A method as claimed in  claim 38  wherein the medical device is a filter device.