Patent ID: 6960188

Claim:
Apparatus suitable for enhancing pushability of a balloon catheter, the apparatus comprising: an outer tube having proximal and distal ends; an inner tube having proximal and distal ends and a guidewire lumen extending therethrough, the inner tube disposed coaxially within the outer tube to define an inflation lumen therebetween; and a balloon having proximal and distal ends, wherein the proximal end of the balloon is affixed to the outer tube at a proximal affixation point and the distal end of the balloon is affixed to the inner tube at a distal affixation point to define a balloon segment extending therebetween, wherein the outer tube tapers just distal to the proximal affixation point to a reduced diameter segment, and the reduced diameter segment is affixed to the inner tube at the proximal end and extends at least one-half of the length of the balloon segment to increase pushability of the balloon, but does not extend to the distal affixation point, a tapered portion the outer tube just distal of the proximal affixation point defining an inflation aperture proximal of the distal end of the outer tube.