Junkosha introduced a new catheter liner category, which it calls Wrapped Liner, at MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis, presenting it as a different way to build a catheter's inner layer rather than an extension of existing liner types.
The company said the category builds on its work in fluoropolymer technologies and applies proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping to liner construction. Junkosha describes the resulting platform as combining high tensile strength, thin-wall construction and flexibility.
Film wrapped on a mandrel
In the process Junkosha describes, PTFE film is wrapped around a mandrel to form the liner wall, instead of a complete tube being extruded. By engineering the properties of the tape, the company says it can target a thin, uniform wall thickness while maintaining strength. Junkosha presents the approach as giving catheter designers and manufacturers more freedom to specify finer braid or coil wire, or to reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter construction.
Thin wall versus kink resistance
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, said catheter engineers often describe profile as king, but argued that a low-profile design involves more than reducing wall thickness. A catheter still has to resist kinking and ovalization while keeping the flexibility its application requires, he said. With extruded and film-cast liners already available in very thin walls, he added, the opportunity lies in how thin-wall construction and strength work together to change the way engineers approach catheter design.
Junkosha frames that balance of thin, strong and more uniform properties as the linchpin of new catheter development, with the potential to give designers greater flexibility in how reinforcement is configured. The company intends Wrapped Liner as a scalable platform supporting a growing portfolio of solutions tailored to evolving catheter requirements.
The case for a new category
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. Looking toward 2027, he said, there is a need for a liner category that is not only manufactured differently but also offers distinct benefits for small-format catheter OEMs. Through the approach, he said, the company aims to extend the possibilities of catheter design in support of next-generation devices intended to improve flexibility and broaden the range of anatomies that can be accessed and treated.
The company is presenting Wrapped Liner as a category rather than a single product, with the wrapped construction intended as a base for further liner variants. The announcement did not include specific liner dimensions, wall-thickness figures or availability dates.