A dilatation catheter refers to a catheter with an expandable portion, such as an inflatable "balloon" at the tip of the catheter used to expand a narrow opening or passage in the body during a catheter insertion procedure. An unexpanded catheter (e.g. with a non-inflated balloon) is secured in place, inflated to perform the necessary manipulations, and then deflated for removal. The field of expandable catheters is very broad and a number of technical problems have been raised for the production of such catheters. A widely recognized distinction in the art is between compliant and non-compliant catheters.
