Patent ID: 7662130

Claim:
A balloon catheter, comprising: a) an elongated shaft having a rapid exchange intermediate section between a proximal and a distal shaft section, an inflation lumen, and a guidewire lumen extending from a guidewire distal port at a distal end of the catheter to a guidewire proximal port in the rapid exchange intermediate section, the rapid-exchange intermediate section comprising: i) a mid-shaft outer tubular member formed of a first polymeric material, with a proximal end secured to a proximal tubular member and with a distal end secured to a distal outer tubular member; ii) an inner tubular member within the mid-shaft outer tubular member, having the guidewire lumen and a proximal end at the guidewire proximal port in communication with the guidewire distal port, and having a proximal end portion extending through a sidewall of the mid-shaft outer tubular member so that the proximal end portion has an outer surface extending along an outer surface of a portion of the mid-shaft outer tubular member; and iii) a multilayered sleeve within the mid-shaft outer tubular member, in a side-by-side relation to the proximal end portion of the inner tubular member, having an outer layer formed of a second polymeric material and an inner layer formed of a third polymeric material, the second polymeric material being different than and having a melting temperature or a glass transition temperature significantly lower than a melting temperature or glass transition temperature of the first and third polymeric materials such that the inner tubular member and the mid-shaft outer tubular member are melt bondable to one another at a relatively low temperature while the multilayered sleeve inner layer retains a wall integrity around the inflation lumen as the multilayered sleeve outer layer flows to form a filler around the inflation lumen at the guidewire proximal port; and b) an inflatable balloon on the distal shaft section, having an interior in fluid communication with the inflation lumen.