1. A balloon catheter, comprising:
a) an elongated catheter shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, a proximal shaft section, a distal shaft section, a guidewire receiving lumen extending along at least a distal portion of the catheter shaft, and an inflation lumen;
b) a distal tip member located at a distal end of the catheter, having a proximal end longitudinally spaced distally apart from the distal end of the elongated catheter shaft with a gap there between, and a lumen which extends to a guidewire distal port in communication with the shaft guidewire lumen, and having an inner layer formed of a first polymeric material which has a first Shore durometer hardness and which defines at least a section of the lumen of the distal tip, and an outer layer formed of a second polymeric material which has a lower Shore durometer hardness than the first polymeric material and which is fusion bond compatible with the first polymeric material; and
c) an inflatable balloon sealingly secured to the distal shaft section so that an interior of the balloon is in fluid communication with the shaft inflation lumen, formed at least in part of a polymeric material fusion bond compatible with the first and second polymeric materials of the tip, and having a distal skirt section surrounding and fusion bonded to a proximal section of the tip along which both the inner and outer layer materials of the tip extend, such that the proximal section of the tip is a fused blend of the balloon distal skirt section and the inner and outer layers of the tip, the fused blend having both the outer layer material and inner layer material of the tip fused to the material of the distal skirt section along the proximal section of the tip.
2. The balloon catheter of claim 1 wherein the distal tip member has a distal section located distal to the fused proximal section of the tip and balloon distal skirt section, such that the balloon distal skirt section surrounds the proximal fused section and not the distal section of the tip.
3. The balloon catheter of claim 2 wherein the inner layer of the tip along the distal section of the tip, located distal to the fused proximal section of the tip, has a thickness which is about 30% to about 50% of the total thickness of the tip along the distal section of the tip.
4. The balloon catheter of claim 2 wherein the distal section of the tip is longer than the fused proximal section of the tip.
5. The balloon catheter of claim 1 wherein the inner and outer layers of the tip are approximately equal in length.
6. The balloon catheter of claim 1 wherein the tip has a pull strength of about 0.5 to about 2.5 lbs.
7. The balloon catheter of claim 1 wherein the balloon is formed at least in part of the first polymeric material.
8. The balloon catheter of claim 1 wherein the balloon is a single-layer balloon formed of the first polymeric material.
9. The balloon catheter of claim 1 wherein the first and second polymeric materials are a polyether block amide copolymer.
10. The balloon catheter of claim 9 wherein the first polymeric material is a PEBAX 72D and the second polymeric material is a PEBAX 55D.
11. The balloon catheter of claim 1 wherein the first polymeric material is not a lubricious polymeric material, and an inner surface of the shaft defining the guidewire lumen proximal to the tip is formed of a lubricious polymeric material.
12. The balloon catheter of claim 1 wherein the second polymeric material of the tip provides a surface which has a higher tackiness than the first polymeric material of the tip, such that the inner surface of the distal tip at least along the distal section thereof is not tacky at a body temperature above room temperature.
13. A balloon catheter, comprising:
a) an elongated catheter shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, a proximal shaft section, a distal shaft section, an outer tubular member with an inflation lumen therein, and an inner tubular member with a guidewire receiving lumen therein;
b) a distal tip member located at a distal end of the catheter, having a proximal end longitudinally spaced distally apart from a distal end of the catheter shaft inner tubular member with a gap there between, and a lumen which extends to a guidewire distal port in communication with the shaft guidewire lumen, and having an inner layer formed of a first polymeric material which has a first Shore durometer hardness and which defines at least a section of the lumen of the distal tip, and an outer layer formed of a second polymeric material which has a lower Shore durometer hardness than the first polymeric material and which is fusion bond compatible with the first polymeric material; and
c) an inflatable balloon sealingly secured to the distal shaft section so that an interior of the balloon is in fluid communication with the shaft inflation lumen, formed at least in part of a polymeric material fusion bond compatible with the first and second polymeric materials of the tip, and having a distal skirt section fusion bonded to a proximal end of the tip, such that a proximal section of the tip is a fused blend of the balloon distal skirt section and the inner and outer layers of the tip, the fused blend having both the outer layer material and inner layer material of the tip fused to the material of the distal skirt section along the proximal section of the tip.
14. The balloon catheter of claim 13 wherein a lap joint secures the tip to the balloon distal skirt section.
15. The balloon catheter of claim 13 wherein a butt joint secures the tip to the balloon distal skirt section.
16-20. (canceled)
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An optical hydrophone for measurement of an acoustic pressure distribution in a fluid medium, comprising:
an optically transparent body having a boundary surface adapted to interface with said fluid medium, said optically transparent body having a cross-section and having an index of refraction that is substantially independent of acoustic pressure;
a light source arrangement that emits light in a beam propagating freely through said optically transparent body and into said fluid medium, said beam having a cross-section that is smaller than said cross-section of said optically transparent body and said light source arrangement illuminating, with said beam, an area disposed at said boundary surface that is smaller than said boundary surface; and
a light receiver arrangement for measuring an intensity of light reflected at said illuminated area as a measurement of said acoustic pressure distribution in said fluid medium, due to modification of the refractive index of said fluid medium caused by said acoustic pressure distribution.
2. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 1 wherein said light source arrangement illuminates said area with an angle of incidence that is smaller than half of a critical angle of total reflection in said optically transparent body.
3. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 2 comprising a fiber-optic arrangement having a first optical conductor that transmits light from said light source arrangement to said optically transparent body and a second optical conductor, separate from said first optical conductor, that transmits light from said optically transparent body to said light receiver arrangement.
4. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 3 comprising a first imaging element disposed between said first optical conductor and said optically transparent body and a second imaging element disposed between said optically transparent body and said second optical conductor.
5. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 2 wherein said light from said light source arrangement substantially laterally illuminates said area of said boundary surface.
6. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 5 wherein said light source arrangement illuminates a substantially circular disk as said area of said boundary surface.
7. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 1 comprising an optical fiber arrangement having a common conductor that conducts light from said light source arrangement to said optically transparent body and that conducts light from said optically transparent body to said light receiver arrangement.
8. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 7 wherein said optical fiber arrangement comprises an exit aperture from which light from said light source arrangement exits toward said optically transparent body, said exit aperture also serving as an entrance aperture for said reflected light.
9. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 8 wherein said optical fiber arrangement comprises a y-coupler.
10. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 8 comprising an imaging element disposed between said exit aperture and said optically transparent body.
11. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 10 wherein said imaging element forms an image of said exit aperture on said boundary surface as said area.
12. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 1 wherein said boundary surface is a surface of said optically transparent body.
13. An optical hydrophone as claimed in claim 1 wherein said optically transparent body is spatially variable relative to a path of said light propagating therein toward said boundary surface.