Junkosha introduced a new catheter liner category, which it calls Wrapped Liner, at MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis. The company said the category draws on its work in fluoropolymer technologies and applies proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology to create an alternative platform for liner construction that combines high tensile strength, thin wall construction and flexibility.
The distinction is in the manufacturing route. Rather than extruding a complete tube, the process wraps PTFE film around a mandrel to build the liner wall. Junkosha said that by engineering the properties of the tape, it can create a liner platform designed to achieve a thin, uniform wall thickness with high strength.
Design freedom, as described by the company
According to Junkosha, that combination gives catheter designers and manufacturers greater freedom to select finer braid or coil wire, or to reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter construction. The company presents the balance of thin wall and strength, rather than wall thickness on its own, as the element that could change how engineers approach reinforcement.
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, made a related point about design priorities. Catheter engineers often say that profile is king, he said, but a low-profile design involves more than reducing wall thickness: 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 argued that the real opportunity lies in how thin-wall construction and strength work together.
Supply base and positioning
Kevin LaDow, chief sales officer of Junkosha USA Inc., described the current options as either dip-coated PTFE built up on a mandrel or extruded PTFE supplied as cut-to-length tubing. Heading into 2027, he said, there is a need for a liner category that is not only manufactured differently but also brings distinct benefits to small-format catheter OEMs. Through the approach, he said, Junkosha aims to extend the possibilities of catheter design for next-generation devices intended to enhance flexibility and to reach a broader range of anatomies that may be accessed and treated.
Because the liner forms part of the catheter wall, its thickness trades off against the room left for reinforcement braid or coil and other elements of the build, the trade-off both Junkosha and Maxson point to. Junkosha frames Wrapped Liner as a scalable platform meant to support a growing portfolio of liner solutions as catheter requirements evolve, rather than as a single product.
The announcement did not include specific liner dimensions, PTFE grades or other materials, commercial availability dates or regulatory status.