Patent ID: 7985214

Claim:
An elongate shaft for use in a catheter, the elongate shaft comprising: an inner layer defining a lumen; a reinforcement braid layer disposed about the inner layer, the reinforcement braid layer comprising at least one metallic member wrapped along a longitudinal axis of the inner layer in either a first or a second helical direction and a plurality of polymer members, wherein each of the plurality of polymer members comprises a plurality of monofilaments, and wherein at least one of the plurality of polymer members are wound in the first helical direction along the longitudinal axis of the inner layer and at least some one of the plurality of polymer members are wound along the longitudinal axis of the inner layer in the second helical direction; and an outer polymer layer disposed about the reinforcement braid layer, the outer polymer layer including a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the proximal portion of the outer polymer layer has a first durometer hardness and the distal portion of the outer polymer layer has a second durometer hardness less than the first durometer hardness, wherein the plurality of monofilaments of each polymer member are arranged side-by-side to collectively define a flat cable, and wherein the plurality of monofilaments of each polymer member are fused together.