Junkosha introduced a new category of catheter liner at MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis. The company calls the category Wrapped Liner and describes it as a new approach to catheter liner construction that draws on decades of expertise in sophisticated fluoropolymer technologies.
Junkosha says it has applied its proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology to offer an alternative platform for catheter liners, one intended to combine high tensile strength, thin wall construction and flexibility.
PTFE film wrapped on a mandrel
In the Wrapped Liner process, PTFE film is wrapped around a mandrel to form the liner wall, rather than extruding a complete tube. By engineering the properties of the PTFE tape, Junkosha says it can create a liner platform designed to achieve a thin, uniform wall thickness with exceptional strength.
The company presents that combination as additional freedom for catheter designers and manufacturers: they can select finer braid or coil wire, or reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter construction. The liner wall and the reinforcement share the same limited cross-section, so the stated ability to choose finer wire or move space elsewhere points to wall thickness as a lever on the wider device design.
Thin wall and strength together
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, said catheter engineers often say that profile is king, but that low-profile design is about more than reducing wall thickness. A catheter still has to resist kinking and ovalization while keeping the flexibility its application needs. With extruded and film-cast liners already available in very thin walls, he said, the real opportunity is how the balance between thin-wall construction and strength works together to change how engineers approach catheter design.
Junkosha treats that balance of thin, strong and more uniform properties as the linchpin for new catheter development, because it could create greater flexibility in how reinforcement is configured.
A platform, not a single liner
The Wrapped Liner category is intended as a scalable platform supporting a growing portfolio of solutions tailored to evolving catheter requirements, according to the company. The strength, thin-wall and flexibility characteristics were presented at launch; the announcement did not include independent test data, wall dimensions or regulatory status for the platform.
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. Heading into 2027, he said, there is a need for a new category of liner that is not only manufactured differently but provides unique benefits for small-format catheter OEMs. Through the new approach, he said, Junkosha is extending the possibilities of catheter design to support the development of next-generation medical devices designed to enhance flexibility and broaden the range of anatomies that may be accessed and treated.