Junkosha used MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis to announce a new catheter-liner category it calls Wrapped Liner, positioning the approach as an alternative to established liner construction methods. The company says the category draws on its experience with fluoropolymer technologies and is intended to give catheter designers another way to balance wall thickness, strength and flexibility.
At the center of the concept is a manufacturing change. Rather than extruding a complete tube, Junkosha says it wraps PTFE film around a mandrel to form the liner wall. The company applies proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology, then engineers the tape properties to create a liner platform designed for a thin, uniform wall thickness and high tensile strength.
A different construction route
Junkosha says the wrapped construction can combine high tensile strength, thin walls and flexibility in a way that gives catheter designers and manufacturers more room to work. In practical terms, that could allow them to specify finer braid or coil wire, or to reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter. The company describes the Wrapped Liner category as a scalable platform rather than a single fixed design, with the aim of supporting a portfolio tailored to changing catheter requirements.
The company’s description places the tape, rather than only the finished tube, at the center of liner design. Junkosha says its wrapping process can be used to pursue a target wall profile while retaining strength, and the resulting liner is intended to give engineers more freedom in how the catheter’s reinforcement and internal space are arranged. The company is presenting these as design capabilities of the platform, not as clinical outcomes from a completed study.
Design trade-offs remain central
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, said catheter engineers often treat profile as a leading priority, but a low-profile design involves more than reducing wall thickness. The device still has to resist kinking and ovalization while retaining the flexibility its application requires, he said.
Maxson added that extruded and film-cast liners are already available with very thin walls. In that context, he said, the more important opportunity is how thin-wall construction and strength work together and how that combination can change the way engineers approach catheter design. Junkosha says that balance is central to new catheter development because it may create more flexibility in how reinforcement is configured.
Targeting small-format OEMs
Kevin LaDow, chief sales officer of Junkosha USA Inc., described the current liner landscape as split between dip-coated PTFE built up on a mandrel and extruded PTFE supplied as cut-to-length tubing. He said that as the industry heads into 2027, there is a need for a new liner category that is manufactured differently and offers distinct benefits for small-format catheter OEMs.
According to LaDow, the approach extends the possibilities of catheter design and supports development of next-generation devices intended to enhance flexibility and broaden the range of anatomies that may be accessed and treated. Junkosha’s announcement framed the category as an evolving platform; it did not disclose specific product dimensions, performance results, regulatory status or commercial launch timing.