Junkosha used MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis to introduce a new catheter liner category it calls Wrapped Liner, presenting the construction as an alternative platform to established liner types rather than an extension of an existing product line. The company said the category draws on its work in fluoropolymer technologies and on proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology.
Instead of extruding a complete tube, the process wraps PTFE film around a mandrel to build up the liner wall. By engineering the properties of the tape itself, Junkosha says it can target a thin, uniform wall thickness while retaining high tensile strength, and pair that with flexibility.
What the construction changes for designers
Wall thickness is one of the variables catheter engineers work hardest to control, and the company argues that a thinner, stronger liner frees space elsewhere in the device. In practice, that could let designers specify finer braid or coil wire, or reallocate the volume to other parts of the catheter construction.
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, cautioned that profile alone does not settle a design. Engineers often say that profile is king, he noted, but a low-profile design involves more than reducing wall thickness, because the 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 lies in how thin-wall construction and strength work together to change the way engineers approach catheter design.
Junkosha describes that combination — thin, strong and more uniform — as the linchpin of new catheter development, on the argument that it may give engineers greater flexibility in how reinforcement is configured.
Positioned as a platform, with 2027 in view
Kevin LaDow, chief sales officer of Junkosha USA Inc., set out the alternatives the category is meant to sit beside: current 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 offers distinct benefits for small-format catheter OEMs.
The company intends Wrapped Liner as a scalable platform supporting a growing portfolio of solutions tailored to evolving catheter requirements, and frames the approach as extending design possibilities for next-generation devices aimed at greater flexibility and a broader range of anatomies that can be accessed and treated. Those remain company claims: the announcement included no published test data, regulatory status or commercial availability details.