ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,491,293, issued on Dec. 9.
"Balloon catheter with hydrogel coating" was invented by Alexander Ruebben (Monaco, Monaco).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The invention relates to a balloon catheter (1) to be introduced into the blood vessel system of the human or animal body, said catheter having a longitudinally extending shaft (2), with the balloon catheter (1) comprising a distal portion (A) in which a balloon (3) is arranged that is expandable by the supply of a fluid through a lumen (9) extending through the shaft (2), with the distal tip (8) of the balloon catheter (1) being provided with a coating consisting of a hydrogel (7). The inven...