New patent application published for: CATHETER

CATHETER

Claims

1. A catheter, comprising: a hollow shaft, wherein a distal end portion of the hollow shaft includes a first section extending substantially linearly, a second section at a distal end side of the first section and including a first curved region, and a third section at a distal end side of the second section and including a second curved region, a rigidity of the second section is larger than a rigidity of the third section, a virtual plane set along an axis of the first section, a first space on a first side with respect to the virtual plane being a first area, and a second space on a second side being a second area, the first curved region and a distal tip of the catheter are in the first area, the second curved region is in the second area, a distance from the distal tip of the catheter to the virtual plane is larger than a distance from a vertex of the first curved region to the virtual plane, and a maximal curvature of the second curved region is larger than a maximum curvature of the first curved region.
2. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein a rigidity of the first section of the hollow shaft is larger than the rigidity of the second section.
3. The catheter according to claim 2, wherein in a front view of the catheter, a distal end of the first section, a vertex of the first curved region, and a vertex of the second curved region in the hollow shaft are arranged on a straight line.
4. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein in a front view of the catheter, a distal end of the first section, a vertex of the first curved region, and a vertex of the second curved region in the hollow shaft are arranged on a straight line.
5. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein a length of the first section is greater than a length of either of the second and third sections.
6. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein a length of the first section is greater than a combined length of both the second and third sections.
7. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein the distance from the vertex of the first curved region to the virtual plane is smaller than a distance from the vertex of the second curved region to the virtual plane.
8. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein the distance from the distal tip of the catheter to the virtual plane is larger than a distance from a vertex of the second curved region to the virtual plane.
9. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein a most curved portion of the second curved region is on the more distal end side in the axial direction than a vertex of the second curved region.
10. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein the first section is a first hollow shaft, the second section is a second hollow shaft, and the third section is a third hollow shaft.
11. The catheter according to claim 10, wherein a first connection between the first hollow shaft and the second hollow shaft is in a first linear region.
12. The catheter according to claim 11, wherein a second connection between the second hollow shaft and the third hollow shaft is in a second linear region.
13. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein the first section and the second section are in a first hollow shaft and the third section is in a second hollow shaft.
14. The catheter according to claim 13, wherein a connection between the first hollow shaft and the second hollow shaft is in a linear region.
15. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein with the rigidity of the third section being 1, a ratio of rigidity among the third section, the second section, and the first section is 1:10 to 20:30 to 300.
16. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein with the distance from the vertex of the first curved region to the virtual plane being 1, a ratio of distances among (a) the distance from the vertex of the first curved region to the virtual plane, (b) a distance from a vertex of the second curved region to the virtual plane, and (c) the distance from the distal tip of the catheter to the virtual plane is 1:5 to 10:6 to 16.
17. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein a rigidity value of the third section is 0.005 to 0.050 gf.Math.cm.sup.2/cm, a rigidity value of the second section is 0.050 to 1.00 gf.Math.cm.sup.2/cm, and a rigidity value of the first section is 0.150 to 15.0 gf.Math.cm.sup.2/cm.
18. The catheter according to claim 1, wherein the distance from the vertex of the first curved region to the virtual plane is 0.500 to 3.00 mm, a distance from a vertex of the second curved region to the virtual plane is 2.50 to 5.00 mm, and the distance from the distal tip of the catheter to the virtual plane is 3.00 to 8.00 mm.
19. A catheter, comprising: a hollow shaft having a distal end portion that includes a first section extending substantially linearly, a second section at a distal end side of the first section and including a first curved region, and a third section at a distal end side of the second section and including a second curved region, wherein a rigidity of the second section is larger than a rigidity of the third section, a virtual plane set along an axis of the first section defines a first area on a first side and a second area on a second side, the first curved region and a distal tip of the catheter are in the first area, and the second curved region is in the second area, a distance from the distal tip of the catheter to the virtual plane is larger than a distance from a vertex of the second curved region to the virtual plane, and the distance from the vertex of the second curved region to the virtual plane is larger than a distance from a vertex of the first curved region to the virtual plane.
20. The catheter according to claim 19, wherein a maximal curvature of the second curved region is larger than a maximum curvature of the first curved region.