Method of thermal treatment of a thermally responsive material of medical devices

摘要

The present invention relates to a method of thermal treatment of thermally responsive material wherein areas in or on the material to be thermally treated are defined and thermal energy is inputted on or into the defined areas in order to change/influence the material characteristics. The present invention further relates to medical devices or parts thereof manufactured at least in part from thermally responsive material by a process comprising at least one step of thermal treatment of this thermally responsive material.

主权项

1. A catheter comprising a catheter tube having a distal tip with a reinforcement pattern disposed therein, the reinforcement pattern comprising at least one annealed longitudinal pattern along a length of the catheter tube and at least one annealed circumferential ring disposed about the catheter tube, the catheter tube comprising a polymer doped with a doping agent, the doping agent being selected from a crosslinking agent, a nucleating agent or a clarifying agent, wherein the doping agent is distributed uniformly through at least a portion of the polymer such that the doping agent is uniformly distributed through a thickness of the catheter tube, wherein the at least one annealed circumferential ring intersects the at least one annealed longitudinal pattern.