Patent ID: 6893456

Claim:
A balloon catheter, comprising: a) an elongated shaft with proximal and distal shaft sections, and an inflation lumen extending therein, and with an outer tubular member formed of a polymeric material having a longitudinal dimension and an inner surface defining at least a portion of the inflation lumen, and an inner tubular member formed of a polymeric material disposed at least in part within the inflation lumen, the inner tubular member having an inner lumen configured for slidably receiving a guidewire therein, the outer tubular member having at least two secured portions formed by the inner surface of the outer tubular member being directly bonded to an outer surface of the inner tubular member by a heat bond, the secured portions being separated from each other by sections of the inflation lumen and being radially adjacent to unsecured portions of the outer tubular member formed by the inner surface of the outer tubular member being not bonded to the outer surface of the inner tubular member, so that the inner surface and not the outer surface of the outer tubular member at the unsecured portions radially adjacent to the secured portions together with the outer surface of the inner tubular member define sections of the inflation lumen in fluid communication with each other via a section of the inflation lumen defined at least in part by the outer tubular member located proximal to at least one of the secured portions, and the secured portions of the outer tubular member have a longitudinal dimension substantially shorter than the longitudinal dimension of the outer tubular member, wherein the longitudinal dimension of at least one of the at least two secured portions is about 1 to about 4 mm; and b) an inflatable balloon on the distal shaft section and in surrounding relation thereto having proximal and distal ends, an intermediate section longitudinally disposed between the balloon proximal and distal ends, and an interior chamber in fluid communication with the inflation lumen.