Extrusion Process Eliminates Assembly of Medical Catheter Shafts

Putnam Plastics Corp., Dayville, Conn. (putnamplastics.com), has developed new extrusion technology that replaces manually assembled medical guide catheter shafts with a single, three-layer component. Called Tri-Tie, the proprietary process creates a three-layer composite shaft with maximum adhesion between the layers for improved performance without manual assembly.

Guide catheters are typically used to access endovascular sites and deliver balloons, stents, guide wires, contrast media, and other devices. These catheters are costly and challenging to manufacture due to complex shaft requirements, which include a lubricious inner layer, a braided stainless-steel middle layer, and a variable-durometer outer layer. Product performance can vary due to poor bonding between the layers and at the union of the outer layer segments, where hinge points occur. Putnam’s new process provides more gradual transitions in the outer layer without bonding or hinge points.

Says Ray Rilling, Putnam’s R&D director, “While the technologies and materials used for this process have a track record in vascular catheter applications, the combination in a single component is a hallmark of Putnam’s innovative approach.”