Patent ID: 7195638

Claim:
A balloon catheter, comprising: a) an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and at least one lumen; and b) a balloon having at least a first layer comprising a tubular body formed of a wrapped sheet of porous polymeric material fused together with a fused seam at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft which changes along a length of the tubular body, and having a proximal skirt section and distal skirt section sealingly secured to the shaft so that the balloon interior is in fluid communication with the at least one lumen of the shaft, the entire length of the skirt sections being sealingly secured to the shaft such that the balloon has an inflatable section extending from the proximal skirt section to the distal skirt section, with the angle of the fused seam along at least one of the proximal and the distal skirt sections being greater than the angle of the fused seam along the entire length of the inflatable section between the sealingly secured skirt sections.