Patent ID: 7175607

Claim:
A balloon catheter comprising: a) a catheter shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and an inflation lumen extending therein; and b) a balloon disposed on a distal shaft section, the balloon having a tubular, essentially wingless noninflated configuration inflatable to an inflated configuration, an inflatable working section, a proximal skirt section, and a distal skirt section, the proximal and distal skirt sections of the balloon being sealingly secured to the shaft so that an interior of the balloon is in fluid communication with the inflation lumen, the balloon comprising a porous polymeric first layer, and a second layer secured at least in part to the first layer, the first and second layers each extending from the proximal skirt section to the distal skirt section, the second layer having a varying wall thickness along a length thereof such that the wall thickness of the second layer along the working section is less than along the proximal and distal skirt sections in the noninflated configuration, and the first layer having a wall thickness that does not vary from the proximal skirt section to the working section in the noninflated configuration.