Patent ID: 7547302

Claim:
A catheter for delivery of fluid, comprising: an elongated tube having a uniform outer diameter and a plurality of exit holes provided along a length of said tube to define an infusion section of said catheter, said tube being sized to be inserted into an anatomical region; and an elongated member positioned within said tube and having a wall formed of a porous material configured to allow a fluid introduced into said catheter to diffuse longitudinally within said wall of said elongated member until said porous material is saturated and the fluid begins to pass through said wall, wherein said porous material is configured to control a rate of fluid flow through said elongated member, said catheter configured such that a fluid introduced into a proximal end of said tube will flow through said exit holes; a ring-shaped adhesive bond filling a space between, and adhering together, a radially outward-facing surface of said elongated member and a radially inward-facing surface of said tube, said ring-shaped adhesive bond located at or near the proximal end of said infusion section such that said plurality of exit holes are located distally of said ring-shaped adhesive bond, said ring-shaped adhesive bond configured to substantially prevent fluid introduced within said elongated tube from entering said infusion section without first passing through said elongated member; wherein at least one of said tube and said elongated member incorporates an anti -microbial substance and is configured for the sustained release of said anti-microbial substance into said fluid.