High performance braided microtubing

 

REALISED WITH THE SUPPORT OF

 

 

 

Over the past few years, the demand for high-performance polyurethane tubes for catheters has significantly increased. The development of innovative concepts in the vascular and cardiac fields, often for implantable devices, frequently requires mechanical performance—such as bending radius and resistance to high pressures—that cannot be achieved with a simple extruded tube.

The solution, therefore, lies in the creation of a reinforced tube with a metal or polymer braid.

ENKI Srl has been producing braided tubes for various applications for many years, using a process that involves the fusion of two tubes: an inner tube and an outer tube surrounding the reinforcement braid.

While effective, this method has limitations, particularly in terms of costs and the achievable thickness of the outer wall. In recent years, ENKI has experimented with a different approach that allows for thinner walls and a more efficient process without sacrificing performance.

 

ENKI develops and manufactures TPE balloons with high compliance and specific shapes using the dip molding process. The solution was identified, by analogy, in applying the outer coating through a chemical deposition of the polymer for the outer layer.

Prototypes created in the R&D laboratory demonstrated, with a wall thickness of less than 0.05 mm, pressure resistance up to 70 Bar. This performance surpasses that of the traditional assembly process, thanks to better fusion between the layers, resulting in significantly reduced wall thickness and overall dimensions.

In recent years, ENKI has invested in industrialising this process, designing and building dedicated machinery to optimise, standardise, and make the process economically advantageous.
This activity was made possible through the support of resources from the European Union, the Italian government, and the Lombardy Region, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 Articles 46, 47, 50, and Annex IX.