Patent ID: 7823722

Claim:
An intraluminal probe packed in a ready-to-use state and entirely arranged in a hermetic package, comprising a tube provided with a hydrophilic coating and having a distal insertion end and a proximal holding end; a nozzle connected to the proximal holding end of the tube, and comprising a canal communicating on one side with the tube and opening on the other side through an orifice; and a removable stopper closing the orifice of the nozzle in a hermetic manner; and wherein the package is fixed to the nozzle in a hermetic manner such that the nozzle defines two hermetic chambers in the package, a first chamber and a second chamber communicate only by means of a lumen of the tube and the canal in the nozzle; wherein the tube is arranged in the first chamber containing a wetting fluid for the hydrophilic coating of the tube, thereby providing a slippery tube; and wherein the orifice of the nozzle opens in a second chamber containing virtually no wetting fluid.