PRESSURE-MONITORING MULTIPLE LUMEN CATHETER AND METHOD OF MOUNTING AN ELECTRIC ELEMENT THEREIN

摘要

A multilumen catheter having passages for the flow of gas, the enclosure of electrical leads, and the transmission of fluids for injection and sampling. The gas transmitting lumen also carries the electrical leads which extend to an electrical element disposed within a passage-providing plug located at a point spaced from the catheter's distal end. The plug blocks the entry of fluids into the catheter without at the same time interfering with the flow of gas therethrough. In one embodiment, the passage-providing plug is at least partially pre-formed and is fitted into the space otherwise occupied by sections of a pair of adjacent lumens, thereby allowing a relatively large electrical element to be mounted within such space; in a second embodiment the element is mounted in a passage-providing plug disposed within a single lumen; and in a third embodiment the element is embedded in a passage-providing plug which is formed in place. Methods for making such catheters are also disclosed.