the present invention is designed to give the advantages of a high performance , flexible , high trackability , low profile tip for balloon catheters regardless of the balloon material used . this is made possible by having a separate flexible , low profile tip component 10 which can be attached to a balloon of any material . the flexibility of the separate tip compensates for the stiffness of the balloon material . the separate tip component 10 could be optimized for flexibility or for profile by material selection , configuration , dimensions or length . the balloon 35 material could be independently optimized for characteristics such as pressure , compliance , perfusion etc . by attaching the separate tip component 10 made of a flexible material such as ldpe to a balloon 35 made of stiff material such as pet , the leading edge of the catheter will still be flexible enough to negotiate tortuous paths and enter tight lesions . once the tip has entered the lesion or navigated through the curve , the pushability of the catheter will result in the balloon 35 following the tip component 10 into the lesion or around the curve . the present invention provides a catheter balloon tip that can reliably withstand internal pressures of at least 325 psi without leaking or rupturing and which is relatively easy , consistent and reliable to manufacture . fig1 is a longitudinal cross - sectional view of a high pressure balloon catheter tip 5 adapted for use in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty ( ptca ). the balloon subassembly 15 is seen in fig2 . the balloon 35 can be made of any material suitable for any pressure ; this includes high pressure balloons which are made from materials such as pet or pet blends , medium pressure balloons which are made from materials such as nylon or nylon blends , and low pressure balloons which are made from materials such as linear density polyethylene ( ldpe ). any suitable balloon 35 material , however , could be used from the elastomeric family , from the semi - crystalline family or from multiple material , coextruded , multilayered materials . the balloon 35 distal tail 50 is trimmed to between about 1 . 5 mm to 2 . 5 mm and should define a lumen inner diameter of approximately 0 . 020 - 0 . 028 inches . for 3 . 0 mm diameter balloons of 20 mm in length , a distal tail 50 inner diameter of 0 . 025 - 0 . 028 inches is preferred . the stiffer the balloon 35 material , the shorter the distal tail 50 should be . for a blend of pet and 10 % ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer ( eva ) a distal tail 50 length of 2 . 5 mm is preferable . this distal tail 50 length is also preferable for a blend such as nylon 11 and 5 % surlyn . the balloon 35 can be formed into any shape such as , spiral , double , perfusion or any conventional shape etc . the tip component 10 subassembly is seen in fig3 . the same tip component 10 can be used for all balloon 35 sizes . the tip component 10 subassembly is comprised of a guidewire shaft 70 and a distal tip extension 30 . the guidewire shaft 70 is made from high density polyethylene ( hdpe ) tubing although other materials of similar durometer and flexibility may also be used . the guidewire shaft 70 typically has dimensions suitable for a standard 0 . 014 inch guidewire such as , for example , a 0 . 017 inch inner diameter , a 0 . 023 inch outer diameter and approximately 150 cm in length . the distal 2 . 0 - 3 . 5 mm of the distal tip extension 30 is shaved to form the distal shave 75 . this tapers down distally to an outer diameter of approximately 0 . 017 to 0 . 021 inches , or the inner diameter of the guidewire lumen . the length of the shaved area is a function of the thickness of the tubing wall . thinner wall thicknesses require a shorter shave to avoid kinking . the distal shave 75 portion begins approximately 1 . 0 mm to 1 . 5 mm distal to the adhesive fillet 20 . the proximal end of the distal tip extension 30 is shaved to form the proximal shave 55 . the proximal shave 55 tapers down proximally for a length of approximately 0 . 5 mm to 1 . 5 mm for ease of insertion of the distal tip extension 30 into the balloon inflation lumen 25 and also to reduce the profile and avoid an abrupt transition . other methods which could be used to achieve the taper include radio frequency ( rf ) welding or compressive heat bonding where the tip may simultaneously be molded into the final or nearly final shape . the distal tip extension 30 is preferably made from semi - crystalline materials such as ldpe although any semi - crystalline or elastomeric material could be used . an advantage of applicant &# 39 ; s tip design is that relatively stiff balloon 35 materials ( such as pet , pet blends , nylon or nylon blends ) can be selected without foregoing flexibility because the balloon 35 material stiffness is offset by the high flexibility of the material used in the distal tip extension 30 . assemble the tip 5 as follows . begin with a 0 . 0165 inch mandrel within the guidewire shaft lumen 65 . select an ldpe distal tip extension 30 tube having an average wall thickness of between approximately 0 . 006 inches to 0 . 008 inches and more preferably 0 . 0075 inches . this recommended distal tip extension 30 wall thickness is important to achieving the required flexibility when using a combination such as , ldpe for the distal tip extension 30 and a stiffer balloon 35 material such as pet or nylon . expand the distal tip extension 30 tube sufficiently by conventional means so that the guidewire shaft 70 can fit into the distal tip extension lumen 60 . insert the distal end of the guidewire shaft 70 and mandrel into the proximal end of the distal tip extension lumen 60 . the overlapping area of the guidewire shaft 70 distal end and the distal tip extension 30 proximal end should be approximately 1 . 0 mm to 3 . 0 mm . heat bond the overlapping area of the guidewire shaft 70 and the distal tip extension 30 together to form the tip component 10 . heat bonding assumes that the materials are melt compatible . if the materials are not melt compatible an adhesive or other bonding method such as laser bonding may be used . heat shrink the distal portion of the distal tip extension 30 extending beyond the distal end of the guidewire shaft 70 down to the mandrel to reduce the outer diameter of the distal end of the distal tip extension 30 for that portion of the distal tip extension 30 which will lie beneath the balloon distal tail 50 . insert the proximal end of the tip component 10 into the distal end of the balloon inflation lumen 25 . the distal end of the guidewire shaft 70 should align with the balloon distal neck 45 . the purpose of this alignment is to reduce the profile of the balloon distal tail 50 which then has but one layer within the distal tip extension 30 under the distal tail 50 as opposed to two layers including the distal tip extension 30 as well as the guidewire shaft 70 . although aligning the distal end of the guidewire shaft 70 ( which is within the distal tip extension 30 ) with the proximal end of the distal tail 50 is the preferred embodiment , the guidewire shaft 70 distal end could also be aligned proximal to or distal to the proximal end of the distal tail 50 . the distal end of the distal tip extension 30 extends out of the distal end of the balloon 35 and the proximal end of the guidewire shaft 70 extends out of the proximal end of the balloon 35 . the length of the overlap of the guidewire shaft 70 and the distal tip extension 30 is a function of the materials used in the guidewire shaft 70 , distal tip extension and balloon 35 . when using a blend of nylon 11 and 5 % surlyn for the balloon 35 material , the overlap of the distal end of the guidewire shaft 70 and the proximal end of the distal tip extension 30 should be about 2 mm . the longer this overlap , the greater the reinforcement to the bond and thus the greater the reliability and strength of the bond . the bonded area between the distal tip extension 30 and the guidewire shaft 70 could be extended to mid balloon 35 and beyond . bond the proximal end of the balloon 35 to the guidewire shaft 70 using any conventional means . the proximal end of the distal tip extension 30 could also be butt bonded to the distal end of the guidewire shaft 70 . the advantage of a butt bond compared to an overlapping joint are that of more flexibility and also of a smaller profile . the butt bond could also be encapsulated with a band of adhesive for reinforcement . the two materials butt bonded together must be melt compatible or a third tie layer must be used . adhesively bond 40 the overlapping area between the balloon distal tail 50 and the of the distal tip extension 30 . the length of bond 40 may be varied based on the required reliability . generally the longer the bond 40 , the stronger the bond will be . bond 40 may be as short at 0 . 5 mm and may extend to the balloon distal neck 45 . a bond 40 length of 2 . 0 mm is preferable given a pet / 10 % eva balloon and a ldpe distal tip extension 30 . this bond 40 length is also suitable for blends such as nylon 11 and 5 % surlyn . typical bond 40 lengths will range between 1 . 5 mm and 2 . 5 mm . a shorter bond may not be suitable for higher pressures and a longer bond may be unnecessary . a preferred adhesive can be used such as a two part polyurethane available from hb fuller of st . paul , minn . ( part number ur 0531a / b ). other adhesives which could be used include cyanoacrylates such as loctite ® 4061 manufactured by loctite corp . in hartford conn ., as well as ultraviolet cured adhesives or epoxies . the tip component is finished by adding a distal bond adhesive fillet 20 of approximately 0 . 5 mm to 1 . 0 mm in length . the purpose of the fillet 20 is to eliminate the abrupt transition due to the difference in outer diameter and the difference in material flexibility between the balloon distal tail 50 and the distal tip extension 30 . an adhesive can be used such as a urethane adhesive available from hb fuller of st . paul , minn . ( part number ur 0531a / b ). other bonding methods may be used in addition to heat or adhesives , including laser and rf welding . the preceding specific embodiments are illustrative of the practice of the invention . it is to be understood , however , that other expedients known to those skilled in the art or disclosed herein , may be employed without departing from the appended claims .
disclosed is a medical catheter comprising a guidewire shaft defining a guidewire lumen . a distal tip extension defines a distal tip extension lumen having at a proximal end thereof a distal end of the guidewire shaft sealingly affixed therein . the inflatable balloon has a body portion , a tail portion and a cone shaped portion . the cone - shaped portion extends between the distal end of the body portion and the proximal end of the tail portion . the balloon tail portion is sealingly affixed to the distal tip extension such that the proximal end of the distal tip extension extends proximally from the proximal end of the balloon tail portion , the distal end of the distal tip extension extends distally from the distal end of the balloon tail and the distal end of the guidewire shaft is in alignment with the proximal end of the balloon tail portion .