Junkosha has introduced a new catheter liner category, called Wrapped Liner, at MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis. The company said the category represents a different approach to liner construction and draws on its experience in fluoropolymer technologies.
According to Junkosha, the platform applies its proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology. The company describes it as an alternative platform intended to combine high tensile strength, thin-wall construction and flexibility, rather than as a modification of an existing liner type.
Wrapping rather than extruding
The manufacturing process wraps PTFE film around a mandrel to form the liner wall instead of extruding a complete tube. Junkosha said that by engineering the tape's properties, it can design a liner platform for thin, uniform wall thickness and high strength. The company positions this as giving catheter designers and manufacturers more freedom to choose finer braid or coil wire or to reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter.
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, said catheter engineers often describe profile as king, but low-profile design involves more than reducing wall thickness. A catheter still must resist kinking and ovalization while retaining the flexibility its application requires, he said. With extruded and film-cast liners already available in very thin walls, Maxson said the opportunity lies in how thin-wall construction and strength work together to change how engineers approach catheter design.
Junkosha said that balance of thin, strong and more uniform properties is central to new catheter development because it may allow greater flexibility in how reinforcement is configured. The Wrapped Liner category is intended as a scalable platform supporting a growing portfolio of solutions for evolving catheter requirements. The company said the category is designed to accommodate a range of catheter needs rather than a single fixed design.
Targeting small-format OEMs
Kevin LaDow, chief sales officer of Junkosha USA Inc., said current catheter liners are either dip-coated PTFE built up on a mandrel or extruded PTFE supplied as tubing cut to length. He said that as the industry heads into 2027, there is a need for a new liner category that is manufactured differently and offers distinct benefits for small-format catheter OEMs.
Through the approach, Junkosha said it aims to extend the possibilities of catheter design and support next-generation medical devices intended to improve flexibility and broaden the range of anatomies that can be accessed and treated. The company is presenting the category to small-format catheter OEMs as a platform for those evolving designs.