| 摘要 |
<p>A tunneler (100,800) having a shaft (102,802) with an advancement end (106) and a connection end portion (104,804) having a lumen insertion tip (108,806) that may define a locating pin. At least one lumen gripping section (120,818) is defined on the connection end portion spaced from the lumen insertion tip (108,806). The lumen-gripping section may be a barb section having at least one discrete barb (120) with a sharp lumen-biting edge and a tapered lead-in surface (128) extending from the sharp edge toward the locating pin. The barb section (120) may have one discrete barb, or it may have an array of discrete barbs (124) disposed equiangularly around the circumference of the connection end portion, with interbarb surfaces (126) that may be flat or fluted. The barb section (620) may be semi-cylindrical in cross-section for use with catheter lumens that are semi-cylindrical or D-shaped. Also, the lumen-gripping section (818) may be an annulus having a rounded lumen-engaging surface, or may be a circumferential array of nubs having rounded lumen-engaging surfaces. The connection end portion may have a plurality of axially spaced lumen-gripping sections (220,230;818) that may have the same diameter or different maximum dimensions for use with a range of sizes of catheter lumens.</p> |
