Junkosha used MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis to introduce a new category of catheter liner, which the company calls Wrapped Liner. According to Junkosha, the category sets out a different approach to liner construction and draws on its long-standing work in fluoropolymer technologies.
The company says it has applied its proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology to create an alternative liner platform that combines high tensile strength, thin wall construction and flexibility. In the process, PTFE film is wrapped around a mandrel to build the liner wall rather than extruding a complete tube.
Thin wall, strength and design space
By engineering the properties of the PTFE tape, Junkosha says it can create a liner platform designed to achieve a thin, uniform wall thickness while retaining exceptional strength. The company frames the resulting design latitude as the main practical benefit: catheter designers and manufacturers could select finer braid or coil wire, or reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter construction.
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, said catheter engineers often describe profile as king, but that low-profile design involves more than reducing wall thickness. He said a catheter still has to resist kinking and ovalization while keeping the flexibility its application requires. Noting that extruded and film-cast liners are already available with very thin walls, he said the real opportunity lies in how thin wall construction and strength work together to change how engineers approach catheter design.
Junkosha presents that balance of thin, strong and more uniform properties as the linchpin of new catheter development, in part because it could allow greater flexibility in how reinforcement is configured. The company positions Wrapped Liner as a scalable platform intended to support a growing portfolio of solutions tailored to evolving catheter requirements.
An option alongside dip-coated and extruded liners
Kevin LaDow, chief sales officer of Junkosha USA Inc., described the incumbent choices as dip-coated PTFE built up on a mandrel or extruded PTFE supplied as tubing cut to length. He said that heading into 2027 there is a need for a new liner category, one that is not only manufactured differently but offers distinct benefits for small format catheter OEMs. Through the new approach, he said, Junkosha aims to extend the possibilities of catheter design to support next-generation devices intended to enhance flexibility and broaden the range of anatomies that may be accessed and treated.
The announcement did not include wall thickness figures, bench or clinical performance data, or a commercial availability timeline for the Wrapped Liner platform. The claims about strength, wall uniformity and design freedom are the company's own, and the accompanying commentary addresses design rationale rather than verified results.