Junkosha used MD&M Midwest in Minneapolis to introduce a new catheter liner category it calls Wrapped Liner, describing the approach as a departure from conventional liner construction and as the basis for a platform it intends to expand.
The company said the category draws on its work in fluoropolymer technologies and applies proprietary PTFE tape engineering and wrapping technology. Instead of extruding a complete tube, the process wraps PTFE film around a mandrel to form the liner wall, with the tape's engineered properties shaping how the finished liner behaves.
Thin wall, strength and design space
According to Junkosha, the resulting liner platform is designed to achieve a thin, uniform wall thickness together with high tensile strength and flexibility. The company presents that combination as its central proposition, since liner designs typically force trade-offs among wall thickness, strength and flexibility.
The stated payoff is design freedom. If the liner wall takes up less of the available profile, catheter engineers could specify finer braid or coil wire, or reallocate space elsewhere in the catheter construction.
Steve Maxson, founder of Maxson InSight Services, framed the issue in terms of what a low profile actually requires. Engineers often say that “profile is king,” he said, but low-profile design is about more than reducing wall thickness, because 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 to change how engineers approach catheter design.
Positioning against existing liner types
Kevin LaDow, chief sales officer of Junkosha USA, described the incumbent options: current catheter liners are either dip-coated PTFE built up on a mandrel or extruded PTFE supplied as tubing cut to length. Heading into 2027, he said, there is a need for a liner category that is not only manufactured differently but also offers distinct benefits for small-format catheter OEMs.
Junkosha said the balance of thin, strong and more uniform properties is the linchpin of new catheter development, potentially loosening constraints on how reinforcement is configured. The company presents Wrapped Liner as a scalable platform intended to support a growing portfolio of solutions tailored to evolving catheter requirements, and to extend design possibilities for devices that aim at greater flexibility and a broader range of anatomies that may be accessed and treated.
The announcement describes a manufacturing approach and design intent; no bench-test or clinical performance data were disclosed.