Junkosha has introduced a new Wrapped Liner category for catheter liners, presenting the platform at MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis. The company describes the category as a distinct approach to liner construction that draws on its long experience with fluoropolymer technologies.
According to Junkosha, the liners apply its proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology to offer an alternative platform for catheter liners. The company says the approach is intended to combine high tensile strength, thin wall construction and flexibility.
Wrapping instead of extruding
In the process described by Junkosha, PTFE film is wrapped around a mandrel to form the liner wall rather than extruding a complete tube. By engineering the properties of the PTFE tape, the company says it can create a liner platform designed to achieve a thin, uniform wall thickness with high strength.
That combination is presented as a way to give catheter designers and manufacturers greater freedom. Junkosha says the liner may allow them to select finer braid or coil wire, or to reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter construction.
Profile, kink resistance and flexibility
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, said catheter engineers often describe profile as king, but that low-profile design involves more than simply reducing wall thickness. In comments provided by Junkosha, Maxson said a catheter still has to resist kinking and ovalization while keeping the flexibility its application needs. He noted that extruded and film-cast liners are already available in very thin walls, and said the real opportunity lies in how thin-wall construction and strength work together to change how engineers approach catheter design.
Junkosha frames this balance of thin, strong and more uniform properties as central to new catheter development, potentially giving engineers greater flexibility in how reinforcement is configured.
A scalable platform
The company positions the Wrapped Liner category 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 liners are either dip-coated PTFE built up on a mandrel or extruded PTFE supplied as tubing cut to length. He 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 offers distinct benefits for small format catheter OEMs. Through this approach, he said, Junkosha aims to extend the possibilities of catheter design to support the development of next-generation medical devices intended to enhance flexibility and broaden the range of anatomies that may be accessed and treated.
The performance attributes are attributed to Junkosha and its cited commentator; the announcement did not include independent test data, and the category is presented as a platform for further development rather than a demonstrated clinical outcome.