Appeal No. 97-0684
Application 08/171,343
rejection of claims 1, 4-7, 13 and 14 remain before us for
review. We reverse.
Appellant’s invention pertains to a two tube, two lumen
coaxial balloon dilation catheter for use in percutaneous
transluminal coronary angioplasty. According to appellant, with
some prior art catheter constructions,
[t]he tortuous configuration of the arteries may
present difficulties to the physician in properly
placing the guidewire and then advancing the catheter
over the guidewire. . . . For example, . . . there may
be a tendency for the tubes to telescope when presented
to an increased resistance. The telescoping of the
tubes will tend to draw the ends of the balloon
together slightly but sufficiently to permit the
balloon to become bunched up as it is forced through
the stenosis. The bunching up of the balloon makes it
more difficult for the balloon to cross the stenosis.
[specification, pages 3-4].
Appellant endeavors to overcome this alleged deficiency in
the prior art by anchoring the distal end of the outer tube to
the inner tube at a location within the balloon to prevent
telescoping of the outer tube over the inner tube at the location
of the balloon. According to appellant, “[b]y preventing
telescoping of the inner and outer tubes, the axial distance
between the ends of the balloon does not contract and bunching of
the balloon is avoided” (specification, pages 5-6).
-2-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007