Patent ID: 7147619

Claim:
A balloon catheter, comprising: a) an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, an inflation lumen, and at least a surface formed of a polymeric material; and b) a balloon on a distal shaft section, having an inflatable section with an interior in fluid communication with the inflation lumen of the shaft, and having a proximal and a distal skirt section bonded to the shaft, and a first and a second layer extending from the proximal skirt section to the distal skirt section along the entire length of the inflatable section of the balloon, the first layer being a porous polymeric material, and the first layer having at least one impregnated section along which pores of the porous polymeric material are impregnated with a polymeric material compatible with the polymeric material of the shaft and different from a polymeric material forming the second layer of the balloon, the impregnated section being longitudinally adjacent to a section of the first layer which is not impregnated with the compatible polymeric material, and at least a portion of the impregnated section being bonded to the shaft.