Junkosha introduced a new catheter liner category, Wrapped Liner, at MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis, presenting it as a new approach to liner construction.
The company said the category draws on its experience in fluoropolymer technologies and applies proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology. In the process, PTFE film is wrapped around a mandrel to form the liner wall instead of extruding a complete tube. By engineering the tape’s properties, Junkosha says it can create a liner platform designed for thin, uniform wall thickness and high tensile strength while retaining flexibility.
Design implications
According to Junkosha, that combination is intended to give catheter designers and manufacturers more freedom to select finer braid or coil wire, or to reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter construction. The company describes the balance of thin wall construction and strength as central to new catheter development because it may allow greater flexibility in how reinforcement is configured.
The distinction is in how the wall is built: wrapping PTFE film around a mandrel allows the tape’s properties to be engineered for the liner, while extrusion forms a complete tube. Junkosha says this method is designed to achieve a thin, uniform wall thickness with exceptional strength, and it presents the resulting balance of properties as the basis for new catheter development.
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, said catheter engineers often describe profile as the key design priority, but low profile involves more than reducing wall thickness. He said 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 added, the opportunity is in how thin-wall construction and strength work together to change how engineers approach catheter design.
Existing options and market focus
Junkosha presents Wrapped Liner as a scalable platform intended to support a growing portfolio of solutions tailored to evolving catheter requirements. 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.
LaDow said that as the industry heads into 2027, there is a need for a new category of liner that is not only manufactured differently but also provides unique benefits for small-format catheter OEMs. Through the Wrapped Liner approach, he said, Junkosha is seeking to extend the possibilities of catheter design to support next-generation medical devices intended to enhance flexibility and broaden the range of anatomies that may be accessed and treated.