Catheter system with push rod for advancement of balloon along guidewire

DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention resides in a balloon-tipped catheter system for angioplasty procedures which permits exchange of a balloon without removal of the guidewire and without requiting a guidewire of double or otherwise extraordinary length.
With its unusual construction, the system also permits perfusion of blood through an angioplasty balloon from surrounding regions immediately adjacent to the balloon ends independently of whether the balloon is inflated.
The system consists of a combination of components, the primary components being: (a) a guidewire; (b) a balloon with a supply or inflation tube for inflation purposes and a through-passage, separate from the inflation tube, for the guidewire; and (c) an elongated rod terminating in a sliding device to travel along either the guidewire, the inflation tube or both to abut the proximal end of the balloon or the proximal end of any short tubular extension at the proximal end of the balloon, the rod having sufficient axial rigidity that it can advance the sliding device through the vasculature to push the balloon along the guidewire.
The balloon will thus be inserted into the vasculature and advanced over the guidewire toward the point of the blockage by the sliding device which is in turn manipulated from outside the body by the elongated rod.
When an exchange is needed, the balloon will be removed by pulling the inflation tube to draw the balloon back over the guidewire.
The separation of the guidewire from the balloon inflation tube permits the two to be held separately outside the patient's body so that the guidewire can be gripped at a point close to the point of entry into the body while the balloon is being withdrawn.
The rod which supports the sliding device is likewise independent of the guidewire outside the body.
This allows the physician to advance the balloon the full distance of the guidewire while again gripping the guidewire close to its point of entry in the body.
Since it can be held so close to the point of entry, the guidewire therefore need be only slightly longer than the length it penetrates the vasculature