CN114796817B

CN114796817B - Super-soft intracranial support catheter

Info

Publication number: CN114796817B
Application number: CN202210583146.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 董壮; 涂迎春; 黄佩佩; 涂真金
Original assignee: Shenzhen Shunmei Medical Co ltd; Huizhou Shunmei Medical Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Shunmei Medical Co ltd; Huizhou Shunmei Medical Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-26
Filing date: 2022-05-26
Publication date: 2023-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 2042-05-26
Also published as: CN114796817A

Abstract

The invention discloses an ultra-soft intracranial support catheter, which comprises a catheter seat and a catheter mechanism, wherein the catheter mechanism comprises a catheter component, the catheter component is connected with the catheter seat and is positioned at one end of the catheter seat, the catheter component comprises an inner liner, a spring winding layer, a woven layer and an outer cladding layer, the inner liner is arranged on the inner layer of the catheter component, the outer cladding layer is arranged on the outer side of the catheter component, the spring winding layer is arranged in the middle of the catheter component, and the spring winding layer is close to one side of the inner liner. This application stretches into the blood vessel through the pipe mechanism that sets up to constitute with multilayer structure and absorbs the thrombus, make the pipe compare in traditional pipe softer, thereby to the damage of blood vessel's friction when having reduced normal use, and set up the propelling movement nature that the pipe assembly near-end is excellent, well blood vessel support nature in the middle of, the wrench control nature and the complicated tortuous blood vessel trafficability characteristic of distal end high torque response, with the compliance of distal end, be convenient for the pipe passes through intracranial distal end blood vessel or carries other apparatus to farther distal end blood vessel.

Description

Super-soft intracranial support catheter

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of medical equipment, in particular to an ultra-soft intracranial support catheter.

Background

Cerebral thrombosis is characterized in that on the basis of cerebral atherosclerosis and plaques, under the conditions of slow blood flow and low blood pressure, formed components of blood adhere to intima of arteries to form thrombus, called cerebral thrombosis, the traditional thrombus is treated by a thrombus suction device, a thrombus suction catheter needs to pass through a bent blood vessel to reach an anatomical position, the tube body of some thrombus suction catheters is not flexible enough to be conveyed to a blood vessel at a farther end, and the blood vessel injury is typically characterized by a plurality of symptoms mainly including hemorrhage, hematoma and hemorrhagic shock, and some patients can have symptoms of nerve injury and infection, so that the treatment effect is influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

Aiming at the defects of the prior art, the invention provides an ultra-soft intracranial support catheter.

The invention discloses an ultra-soft intracranial support catheter, which comprises

A catheter hub; and

the pipe mechanism, it includes the pipe assembly, the pipe assembly is connected with the pipe seat, and is located the one end of pipe seat, the pipe assembly includes inner liner, around spring layer, weaving layer and surrounding layer, the inlayer of pipe assembly is provided with the inner liner, the outside of pipe assembly is provided with the surrounding layer, the middle part of pipe assembly is provided with around spring layer, and winds one side that the spring layer is close to the inner liner, the middle part of pipe assembly is provided with the weaving layer, and the weaving layer is located between around spring layer and the surrounding layer.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the catheter mechanism further comprises a suction assembly, the suction assembly comprises a guide cavity, the guide cavity is arranged on the catheter seat and the catheter mechanism, and the guide cavity penetrates through the middle of the catheter seat and the catheter mechanism.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the suction assembly further includes a developing ring disposed at an end of the conduit mechanism away from the conduit seat, and the developing ring is located inside the conduit mechanism.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the catheter assembly further includes a pushing section, a supporting section and a twisting section, the pushing section is disposed at one end of the catheter assembly close to the catheter hub, the twisting section is disposed at one end of the catheter assembly far from the catheter hub, and the supporting section is disposed between the pushing section and the twisting section.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it further comprises

The auxiliary mechanism comprises an auxiliary assembly, the auxiliary assembly comprises an auxiliary cavity, an auxiliary piece and an air exhaust hole, the auxiliary cavity is arranged in the catheter mechanism and located at one end far away from the catheter mechanism, the auxiliary piece is arranged in the auxiliary cavity, one end of the auxiliary cavity is connected with the catheter mechanism, the air exhaust hole is arranged in the catheter mechanism and located on one side, close to one end of the catheter mechanism, of the auxiliary cavity, and the air exhaust hole is communicated with the auxiliary cavity and the guide cavity.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the auxiliary member further comprises an auxiliary surface, the auxiliary surface is arranged on a side of the auxiliary cavity far away from the guide cavity, and the auxiliary surface is inclined towards a side close to the guide cavity.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the auxiliary mechanism further includes a support assembly, the support assembly includes a support chamber, a communication hole, a sealing member, and a connecting member, the support chamber is disposed in the conduit mechanism and located between the conduit seat and the auxiliary chamber, the support chamber is filled with the electrorheological fluid, the communication hole is disposed in the conduit mechanism and communicates the support chamber with the auxiliary chamber, the sealing member is disposed in the communication hole and located at one end of the communication hole close to the support chamber, the connecting member is connected to the auxiliary member and located at one end of the auxiliary member close to the support chamber, the connecting member has the same size as the communication hole, and the connecting member and the auxiliary member are made of conductive materials.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the support assembly further includes a partition connected to the connecting member and located at an end of the connecting member near the support cavity, the partition limiting movement of the closure member in a direction perpendicular to the support cavity.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the softness of the catheter assembly increases gradually from the end close to the catheter hub to the end far from the catheter hub.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the number of the supporting members is at least two, and the supporting members are not communicated with each other.

The beneficial effect of this application lies in: draw the thrombus through the pipe mechanism that sets up to constitute with multilayer structure stretches into the blood vessel for the pipe is softer than traditional pipe, thereby has reduced the frictional damage to the blood vessel when normally using, and sets up the excellent propelling movement nature of pipe assembly near-end, and good vascular support nature in the middle, the wrench control nature and the complicated tortuous blood vessel of distal end high torque response are passed through, and the compliance of distal end, and the pipe of being convenient for passes through intracranial distal end blood vessel or carries other apparatus to farther end blood vessel.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the application and together with the description serve to explain the application and not to limit the application. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of a super soft intracranial support catheter;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a catheter mechanism in the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a braided layer in the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a coil spring layer in the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is another structural diagram of the coil spring layer in the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of an auxiliary mechanism in the embodiment;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of the auxiliary member in the embodiment.

In the attached drawings, 1-a catheter seat, 2-a catheter mechanism and 3-an auxiliary mechanism;

21-a catheter assembly, 22-a suction assembly;

31-an auxiliary component, 32-a support component;

211-an inner lining layer, 212-a spring winding layer, 213-a weaving layer, 214-an outer cladding layer, 215-a pushing section, 216-a supporting section and 217-a twisting control section;

221-guide chamber, 222-developing ring;

311-auxiliary cavity, 312-auxiliary part, 313-air exhaust hole, 314-auxiliary surface;

321-support chamber, 322-communication hole, 323-sealing member, 324-connecting member, 325-separating member.

Detailed Description

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous implementation details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that these implementation details are not to be interpreted as limiting the invention. That is, in some embodiments of the invention, such implementation details are not necessary. In addition, for the purpose of simplifying the drawings, certain well-known and conventional structures and components are shown in the drawings in a simplified schematic manner.

It should be noted that all the directional indicators in the embodiment of the present invention, such as upper, lower, left, right, front, and rear … …, are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement, etc. between the components in a specific posture as shown in the drawing, and if the specific posture is changed, the directional indicator is changed accordingly.

In addition, the descriptions related to the first, the second, etc. in the present invention are only used for description purposes, do not particularly refer to order or sequence, and do not limit the present invention, but only distinguish the elements or operations described in the same technical terms, and are not understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly indicate the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, technical solutions between various embodiments may be combined with each other, but must be realized by a person skilled in the art, and when the technical solutions are contradictory or cannot be realized, such a combination should not be considered to exist, and is not within the protection scope of the present invention.

For a further understanding of the invention, its nature and utility, reference should be made to the following examples, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

referring to fig. 1 and 2, fig. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a super-soft intracranial support catheter in an embodiment, and fig. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a catheter mechanism in the embodiment. The super-soft intracranial support catheter in the embodiment comprises a catheter holder 1 and a catheter mechanism 2, wherein the catheter mechanism 2 comprises a catheter component 21, the catheter component 21 is connected with the catheter holder 1 and is positioned at one end of the catheter holder 1, the catheter component 21 comprises an inner liner 211, a spring winding layer 212, a weaving layer 213 and an outer cladding 214, the inner layer of the catheter component 21 is provided with the inner liner 211, the outer cladding 214 is arranged on the outer side of the catheter component 21, the middle part of the catheter component 21 is provided with the spring winding layer 212, the spring winding layer 212 is close to one side of the inner liner 211, the weaving layer 213 is arranged in the middle of the catheter component 21, and the weaving layer 213 is positioned between the spring winding layer 212 and the outer cladding 214, so that the catheter component 21 can extend into a blood vessel of a patient when a thrombus is sucked by using a thrombus suction device, under the soft action of the catheter component 21 consisting of the inner liner 211, the spring winding layer 212, the weaving layer 213 and the outer cladding 214, the catheter component 21 can extend inwards along the blood vessel, friction damage can be avoided, and the extending efficiency of the device in normal use is guaranteed.

Preferably, the coiled spring layer 212 is made of a metal material, and the metal material may be nickel-titanium alloy, cobalt-chromium alloy, platinum-tungsten alloy, stainless steel, composite alloy, or the like.

Preferably, the braid 213 is woven by 16 wires at an oblique crossing, and the pitch of the braid 213 is divided into 2 parts, with a larger proximal pitch and a smaller distal pitch.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2 again, the catheter mechanism 2 further includes a suction assembly 22, the suction assembly 22 includes a guide cavity 221, the guide cavity 221 is opened in the catheter holder 1 and the catheter mechanism 2, and the guide cavity 221 penetrates through the middle parts of the catheter holder 1 and the catheter mechanism 2, when thrombus needs to be sucked, one end of the catheter holder 1, which is far away from the catheter mechanism 2, is connected with a suction device, so that the catheter mechanism 2 is inserted into a blood vessel of a patient and extends to a thrombus blocking position, the guide cavity 221 can generate negative pressure through the suction device, and then the thrombus is sucked through one end of the catheter mechanism 2, which is far away from the catheter holder 1, so that the thrombus is sucked out, and the blood vessel is dredged.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2 again, the suction assembly 22 further includes a developing ring 222, the developing ring 222 is disposed at one end of the catheter mechanism 2 far away from the catheter hub 1, and the developing ring 222 is located in the catheter mechanism 2, so that after the catheter mechanism 2 extends into the blood vessel of the patient, since the developing ring 222 is located inside the catheter mechanism 2, the blood vessel is not contacted, the human body is not damaged, and the safety of the catheter in the implantation process is increased by striking.

Referring to fig. 3-5, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a braided layer in the embodiment, fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a spring winding layer in the embodiment, and fig. 5 is another schematic structural diagram of the spring winding layer in the embodiment. The catheter assembly 21 further comprises a pushing section 215, a supporting section 216 and a twisting section 217, the pushing section 215 is arranged at one end, close to the catheter seat 1, of the catheter assembly 21, the twisting section 217 is arranged at one end, far away from the catheter seat 1, of the catheter assembly 21, the supporting section 216 is arranged between the pushing section 215 and the twisting section 217, the flexibility of the catheter assembly 21 is gradually increased from one end, close to the catheter seat 1, to one end, far away from the catheter seat 1, and through the arrangement of the three-level excessive flexible sections, the pushing section 215 can be enabled to play a pushing role in stretching the catheter assembly 21, supporting of a blood vessel is guaranteed through the supporting section 216, high torque response twisting control performance during stretching and complex tortuous blood vessel trafficability and flexibility are guaranteed through the twisting section 217, so that the catheter can conveniently penetrate through intracranial distal blood vessels or convey other instruments to far-end blood vessels, when thrombus is sucked, suction loss can be caused due to the fact that gas outside the catheter can be sucked at the same time, suction can be caused, normal suction of the thrombus can be influenced, and when suction is performed, the situation that the inner lining layer 211 can be deformed under the effect of negative pressure can be caused, the normal suction of the thrombus can be caused, and the suction efficiency of the thrombus can be influenced.

Referring to fig. 6 to 7, fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of an auxiliary mechanism in the embodiment, and fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of an auxiliary member in the embodiment. The auxiliary mechanism 3 is further included, the auxiliary mechanism 3 includes an auxiliary component 31, the auxiliary component 31 includes an auxiliary cavity 311, an auxiliary part 312 and an air suction hole 313, the auxiliary cavity 311 is arranged on the catheter mechanism 2 and is located at one end far away from the catheter mechanism 2, the auxiliary part 312 is arranged on the auxiliary cavity 311, one end of the auxiliary cavity 311 is connected with the catheter mechanism 2, the air suction hole 313 is arranged on the catheter mechanism 2 and is located at one side of the auxiliary cavity 311 close to one end of the catheter mechanism 2, the air suction hole 313 communicates the auxiliary cavity 311 with the guide cavity 221, when thrombus is sucked through the catheter mechanism 2, under the action of continuous external suction of the guide cavity 221, gas in the auxiliary cavity 311 is sucked outwards through the air suction hole 313, so that the auxiliary cavity 311 is in a negative pressure state, and under the action of negative pressure, the auxiliary part 312 drives the tube seat at one end of the catheter mechanism 2 far away from the catheter seat 1 to move towards the direction of the catheter 1, so that the outer side of the auxiliary cavity 311 bulges outwards, and further seals a part of a blood vessel, thereby increasing the suction force of one end 21 far away from the catheter seat 1, and ensuring the suction efficiency of the thrombus.

Referring back to fig. 6, the auxiliary member 31 further includes an auxiliary surface 314, the auxiliary surface 314 is disposed on a side of the auxiliary cavity 311 away from the guide cavity 221, and the auxiliary surface 314 is inclined toward a side close to the guide cavity 221, so that when the auxiliary member 312 moves to operate the auxiliary member 31, an outward pushing force is generated on an outer side of the auxiliary cavity 311, so that the conduit mechanism 2 on the outer side of the auxiliary cavity 311 moves outward, and a situation that the conduit mechanism 2 on a side of the auxiliary cavity 311 moves inward to block and close the guide cavity 221 is avoided.

Preferably, the front and rear sides of the lower end of the auxiliary member 312 are provided with slots, and the inner and outer sides of the auxiliary cavity 311 are connected by the lower end of the auxiliary cavity 311, so that when the outer side of the auxiliary cavity 311 moves outwards under the action of the auxiliary surface 314, the inner side of the auxiliary cavity 311 can be pulled outwards at the same time, thereby preventing the inner side of the auxiliary cavity 311 from moving inwards to cause blockage

Referring to fig. 6 and 7 again, the auxiliary mechanism 3 further includes a support assembly 32, the support assembly 32 includes a support cavity 321, a communication hole 322, a sealing member 323 and a connector 324, the support cavity 321 is opened at the conduit mechanism 2, the support cavity 321 is located between the conduit holder 1 and the auxiliary cavity 311, the support cavity 321 is filled with electrorheological fluid, the communication hole 322 is opened at the conduit mechanism 2, the communication hole 322 communicates the support cavity 321 with the auxiliary cavity 311, the sealing member 323 is disposed at the communication hole 322, and the sealing member 323 is located at one end of the communication hole 322 close to the support cavity 321, so that in a normal state, the sealing member 323 is in a state of sealing the communication hole 322, thereby ensuring that leakage occurs when the support cavity 321 flows into the auxiliary cavity 311, the connector 324 is connected with the auxiliary member 312, and the connector 324 is located at one end of the auxiliary member 312 close to the support cavity 321, the connector 324 has the same size as the communication hole 322, so that when the auxiliary assembly 31 normally operates, the connector 324 can drive the connector 324 to move downward, so that one end of the connector extends into the support cavity 321, and the connector 324 contact with the support cavity 324, so that the current flowing through the support cavity 321 and the conductive fluid is not connected with the support cavity 324, and the conductive fluid, so that the conductive fluid is not connected with the support component 324, and the support cavity 321, so that the conductive fluid is formed, and the conductive fluid is not connected, so that the support cavity 321, and the conductive fluid is formed, and the support cavity 321 are connected, and the conductive fluid is not connected, and the conductive fluid, so that the conductive fluid is formed, and the support cavity 324, and the conductive fluid is not connected, and the conductive fluid is formed, and the support cavity 324, and the support cavity 321 is formed, avoid the condition of its deformation to take place to through the normal back of working of auxiliary assembly 31, under the effect that supporting component 32 could normal use, make only just support pipe mechanism 2 when thrombus suction device normally works, and then avoided because the maloperation, influence the condition of the compliance of pipe mechanism 2 and taken place.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7 again, the supporting assembly 32 further includes a partition 325, the partition 325 is connected to the connecting member 324 and is located at one end of the connecting member 324 close to the supporting cavity 321, and the partition 325 limits the movement of the sealing member 323 perpendicular to the supporting cavity 321, so that when the supporting assembly 32 normally works, the movement of the sealing member 323 can be limited by the partition 325, and further, when the supporting assembly 32 is separated each time, the sealing member 323 can seal the communicating hole 322, thereby avoiding the occurrence of leakage of the electrorheological fluid in the supporting cavity 321.

Preferably, the closure 323 is circular in shape and the lower end of the divider 325 is an arc-shaped slot of the same size.

Preferably, the sealing member 323 is provided with a magnetic block, and the partition 325 is made of a magnetic material, so that the sealing member 323 can be driven to move synchronously when the partition 325 moves, and the communication hole 322 can be always closed by the sealing member 323 under the action of the liquid pressure after the communication hole 322 is closed.

Referring to fig. 1-2 and 6-7 again, the suction generating device is connected with the catheter seat 1, the catheter mechanism 2 is inserted into the blood vessel of the human body, the front end of the catheter extends to one side of thrombus along the blood vessel under the action of the softness of the catheter, then the suction generating device sucks the thrombus through the guide cavity 221, the auxiliary component 31 is started during suction, so that the suction force applied to the thrombus is increased, then the supporting component 32 is started, the catheter mechanism 2 is supported under the action of the increase of the viscous resistance of the electrorheological fluid in the supporting cavity 321, the deformation of the catheter mechanism is prevented, so that the thrombus can be continuously sucked, and after the suction is finished, the catheter is taken out along the blood vessel, and the treatment is finished.

To sum up: the catheter component formed by the multilayer structure stretches into the blood vessel to absorb thrombus, so that the catheter is softer than a traditional catheter, the friction damage to the blood vessel during normal use is reduced, the excellent pushing performance of the proximal end of the catheter component is set, the blood vessel supporting performance is good in the middle, the twisting control performance and the complex tortuous blood vessel passing performance of the distal high-torque response are improved, and the catheter can conveniently pass through intracranial distal blood vessels or convey other instruments to more distal blood vessels due to the softness of the distal end.

The above description is only an embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. Various modifications and alterations to this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement or the like made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ultra-soft intracranial support catheter, which is characterized by comprising

A catheter hub (1); and

the catheter mechanism (2) comprises a catheter component (21), the catheter component (21) is connected with the catheter seat (1) and located at one end of the catheter seat (1), the catheter component (21) comprises an inner liner (211), a spring winding layer (212), a woven layer (213) and an outer wrapping layer (214), the inner liner (211) is arranged on the inner layer of the catheter component (21), the outer wrapping layer (214) is arranged on the outer side of the catheter component (21), the spring winding layer (212) is arranged in the middle of the catheter component (21), the spring winding layer (212) is close to one side of the inner liner (211), the woven layer (213) is arranged in the middle of the catheter component (21), and the woven layer (213) is located between the spring winding layer (212) and the outer wrapping layer (214);

the auxiliary mechanism (3), the auxiliary mechanism (3) includes auxiliary assembly (31), auxiliary assembly (31) is including supplementary chamber (311), auxiliary member (312) and aspirating hole (313), pipe mechanism (2) are seted up in supplementary chamber (311), and are located the one end of keeping away from pipe mechanism (2), auxiliary member (312) set up in supplementary chamber (311), and the one end and pipe mechanism (2) of supplementary chamber (311) are connected, aspirating hole (313) are seted up in pipe mechanism (2), and are located one side that supplementary chamber (311) are close to pipe mechanism (2) one end, aspirating hole (313) will assist chamber (311) and guide chamber (221) intercommunication.

2. The ultra-soft intracranial support catheter according to claim 1, wherein the catheter mechanism (2) further comprises a suction assembly (22), the suction assembly (22) comprising a guide lumen (221), the guide lumen (221) opening into the catheter hub (1) and the catheter mechanism (2), and the guide lumen (221) extending through a middle portion of the catheter hub (1) and the catheter mechanism (2).

3. The super soft intracranial support catheter according to claim 2, wherein the suction assembly (22) further comprises a visualization ring (222), the visualization ring (222) being disposed at an end of the catheter mechanism (2) remote from the catheter hub (1), and the visualization ring (222) being located within the catheter mechanism (2).

4. The super-soft intracranial support catheter according to claim 3, wherein the catheter assembly (21) further comprises a pushing section (215), a supporting section (216), and a twisting section (217), the pushing section (215) being disposed at one end of the catheter assembly (21) close to the catheter hub (1), the twisting section (217) being disposed at one end of the catheter assembly (21) far from the catheter hub (1), the supporting section (216) being disposed between the pushing section (215) and the twisting section (217).

5. The ultra-soft intracranial support catheter according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary member (31) further comprises an auxiliary surface (314), the auxiliary surface (314) being provided on a side of the auxiliary lumen (311) remote from the guide lumen (221), and the auxiliary surface (314) being inclined to a side close to the guide lumen (221).

6. The ultra-soft intracranial support catheter according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary mechanism (3) further comprises a support member (32), the support member (32) comprises a support cavity (321), a communication hole (322), a sealing member (323), and a connecting member (324), the support cavity (321) is provided in the catheter mechanism (2), the support cavity (321) is located between the catheter holder (1) and the auxiliary cavity (311), the support cavity (321) is filled with the electrorheological fluid, the communication hole (322) is provided in the catheter mechanism (2), the communication hole (322) communicates the support cavity (321) with the auxiliary cavity (311), the sealing member (323) is provided in the communication hole (322), the sealing member (323) is located at one end of the communication hole (322) close to the support cavity (321), the connecting member (324) is connected with the auxiliary member (312) and is located at one end of the auxiliary member (312) close to the support cavity (321), the connecting member (324) has the same size as the communication hole (322), and the connecting member (324) and the auxiliary member (312) are made of a conductive material.

7. The hypersoft intracranial support catheter according to claim 6, wherein the support assembly (32) further comprises a divider (325), the divider (325) being connected to the connector (324) and located at an end of the connector (324) adjacent to the support lumen (321), the divider (325) limiting movement of the flap (323) perpendicular to the support lumen (321).

8. A super-soft intracranial support catheter according to claim 1, wherein the softness of the catheter assembly (21) increases progressively from the end near the catheter hub (1) to the end remote from the catheter hub (1).

9. The ultra-soft intracranial support catheter according to claim 6, wherein the support assemblies (32) are at least two in number and do not communicate with each other.