CA2146989C

CA2146989C - Catheter for the injection of medicines

Info

Publication number: CA2146989C
Application number: CA002146989A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Berthold Hofling; Hanson S. Gifford; Andreas Posel
Original assignee: Bavaria Medizin Technologie GmbH
Current assignee: Bavaria Medizin Technologie GmbH
Priority date: 1992-10-21
Filing date: 1993-10-13
Publication date: 2002-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 2013-10-13
Also published as: PL172768B1; NO951490D0; RU2129888C1; WO1994008653A1; HK213396A; AU693078B2; KR0153374B1; GR3019507T3; HUT72681A; DE4235506A1; SK50995A3; DE59301654D1; JP3330944B2; TW242118B; JPH08504613A; AU5369694A; CZ97395A3; NO951490L; ES2083876T3; HU217867B

Abstract

A catheter far the injection of a fluid, for example, medicine, into body cavities such as veins or other hollow organs is provided with a head which is insertable into the body cavity and includes hollow needles movably disposed therein between retracted and extended positions and with an operating mechanism mounted to the end of the catheter opposite the head and operatively connected to the needles for moving their front ends outwardly in contact with the walls of the body cavity for supplying the fluid or medicine through the hollow needles directly to the wall portions of the body cavities to be treated. A balloon may be disposed in front of the catheter head and may be inflated or deflated by way of a passage extending through the catheter.

Description

_.- ~:~ 2146989 CATHETER FOR THE INJECTION OF.fIEDICINES
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The invention relates to a catheter far the injection of medicine or other fluid into the walls of a hollow organ or another body cavity. -For the medical treatment of patients it is advantageous to utilize treatment methods by which the medicine can be directly applied to the particular infected or ill body part. For treatment, for example, within hollow organs, body cavities, or blood vessels, ~ particularly arteries, various catheters have been pro-posed by which medicines can be supplied to the area adjacent the tissue to be treated. The most simple catheters of this type are infusion catheters which have one or more openings adjacent the front end of the catheter or which are even perforated. They are expanded so as to come into firm contact with the vessel walls and . to supply thereby the medicine directly to the tissue to be treated. In this way an angioplastic balloon (porous balloon) can be provided which has a number of small holes and is expanded upon admission of the medicine under pressure and which thereby is placed into firm con-tact with the wall of the artery in which it is disposed so that medicine can be supplied to the adjacent tissue under pressure.
It is however a disadvantage of such systems that the medicine is effective only for' short periods and 21~698~
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the amount of medicine applied is uncertain. If simple infusion catheters are used the medicine may also be car-ried away very rapidly. It may therefore be necessary to extend the infusion treatment over several days t~~
achieve a hypothetical medicine concentration at the location to be tr Bated. ,_This requires a relatively l~r~;
hospital stay and also increases the risk of infections cr othg,r complications. It is also a disadvantage thW
the treat:~~en~ cannot be performed concurrently With dilatatio~ prcced;~re in a single operation.
US-A-4 578 061 discloses a catheter in accordance with the preamble of Claim 1. In this catheter, the injection needle is displaced inside the catheter tip by means of a flexible wire that runs through the same lumen through which the medication flows. The injection needle, hollow only in its forward part, has at its rear end a connecting channel arranged to one side which, when the needle is extended outwardly, must align with a further connecting channel provided in the catheter tip, in order to permit.
application of medication. Such alignment is difficult to ensure. -Disclosed in W092/i0142 is a catheter for use in prostate treatment wherein a plurality of tubular needles can be slid out of the catheter head in order to permit glass fibre elements and thermal measurement probes to be inserted in tissue.

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'~:::::' 214989 It is t~~e object of the present invention t~
provide a catheter by , which, without encounter ing t;:e above-described disadvantages, medicine can be adminis-tered internally in a simple and safe manner particularly i5 directly to the jai is of body cavities, hol lo~.~ organs vessels where the medicine is needed.
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A cathete~ for the injection of a fluid, example, medicine, into body cavities such as veins 20 other hollow organs is provided with a head which is insertable into the body cavity and includes hol?o~;
._ needles movably d:sposeW therein between retracted and extended positions and with an operating mechanism mounted' to the end of the catheter apposite the head and 25 operatively connected to the needles for moving their front ends outwardly in contact_with the walls of the body cavity for supplying the fluid or medicine through the hollow needles directly to the wall portions of the body cavities to be treated. A balloon may be disposed 30 in front of the catheter head and may be inflated or deflated by way of a passage extending through the catheter.
The needles of the catheter are maintained in a retracted position within an outer shank of the catheter 35 in which position the catheter can be inserted into a hollow organ or into the veins, particularly the arter-ies. The catheter is also provided with a mechanism by

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. which the needles can be moved out of the catheter. Such movement is initiated and executed when the catheter is in the desired position. During this procedure the needles engage the walls. The needles are hollow with inner channels through which the medicine can be injected into the tissue. Piercing of the vessel walrs by the needles causes perforation which however, because of the small size of the needles, is insignificant so that no bleeding injury is caused thereby. The procedure also i0 provides for the possibility to deposit a medicine stor-age of a given amount of medicine in the tissue.
Far moving the needles there may be provided in the catheter an inner hose which is movable in axial direction with respect to,,the outer shank and on which the needles are mounted in such a manner that they can be moved by the inner hose so as to engage or pierce the vessel wall. It is also possible to mount the needles on a balloon-like shell which can be expanded. Movement of the needles is achieved in this case by pressurizing the shell. It is also possible to provide the needles with extensions together with which they can be displaced in the catheter.
The medicine or fluid is admitted from the end of the catheter which is disposed outside the human body.
If it is desired that the medicine does not enter a great - distance into the vessel wall the needle points should be arranged in such a manner that the bevel-cut front faces, which engage the vessel walls, pierce the vessel walls only slightly or are disposed parallel to the vessel walls. This is achieved by arranging the needles in such a way that the front faces of the extended needles are as parallel to the catheter axis as possible. In order to insure that the medicine is administered in the preferred manner it is intended that the needles slightly pierce the tissue. Therefore, a line normal to the front face should not be exactly parallel to the needle axis but should deviate therefrom by at least a small angle so

3 that the needl es do not onl y f l at l y a!?ut the t issue but their front end can become slightly embedded in the tis-sue.
The force applied during ,manipulation and the angle will then determine how deep the needle point pierces into the tissue so that a depth-controlled in,jec-tion into, for example. a vessel wall is poss-ible in a predetermined location. Of course the needle point is to be cut in correspondence with the intended application and it may be, for example, obtuse, rounded or bevelled.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention the needles are mechanically pretensioned, that is, they have in their front portion an inherent curva-ture whereby the needles, when extended by an opera~ing mechanism, curve outwardly to~;ard the vessel. wall. if -the needl es are more f 1 exibl a such ti-~at the pretension is not sufficient to move the needles in the direction of the wall, the front end of the catheter may include - needle guides by which the needle is bent over and guided ~ toward the wall in a controlled manner.
In a particula r embodiment the operating mechanism is a multi-lumen hose movable in longitudinal direction with respect to the catheter and including sev-eral passages extending from the front end of the catt-~eter to its opposite end. Needles which are preten-sioned so as to bend when freed are disposed within these passages at the front end of the catheter. By movement of the multi-lumen hose within the catheter shank the --- needles can be extended longitudinally whereupon, because of their pretensioned state, they bend outwardly toward the vessel wall. For operation of the needles the catheter is provided at its end opposite the front end thereof with a mechanism which consists essentially of two parts: The first part is connected to the outer ~ catheter shank and the second part is connected to the multi-lumen hose. Both parts .are spread apart by means ~of a spring so that, under normal conditions, the needles

4 _ ~~ . 2146989 are contained within the outer shank of the catheter.
Forcing the two parts together causes the multi-lumen hose to slide forward within the outer shank so that the needles are moved out of the front end of the catheter.
A similar arrangement maybe utilized for oper-ation if the needles are to be forced outwardly by a pressurized balloon-li!~e shell wherein the pressure is generated by forcing the two parts ~f the operating mech-anism together.
It is also po~5ible that the needles have tubu-lar extensions disposed in the catheter aver its full length and connected at the other end to the operating mechanism by which the needles are movable longitudinally in the catheter for causing the needles to slide out of _ the front end of the catheter. f1edicine can then be ._ introduced under pressure into the needle extensions within the operating mechanism.
In a further embodiment of the invention a bal loon of the type generally in use is disposed directly in front of the injection head of the catheter wherein a lead wire is disposed outside the catheter and extends . through an inner lumen tmonorail) only in the area of the balloon as shown in U.S. Patent 5,154,725. But it is of course also possible to use a lead wire which extends through the whole catheter shank, the injection head and the balloon.
With such an arrangement treatment of the tis sue by medicine can be combined in an advantageous manner . with the~dilatation procedure to a single operation so that no catheter exchange is required which greatly reduces the time period for the procedure and also the stress for the patient. Furthermore such a combined injection-balloon catheter gives the physician the possi-bility to make a decision as to the kind of~treatment when the catheter is already inserted into the vessel.
It is further considered to be advantageous that arrang-ing the balloon in front of the injection head provides - ~~14fi989 for a very smooth widening of the passage. After the injection procedure an additional balloon dilatation can be initiated if this is considered tn be advisable for .- optimizing distribution of the medicine and to smooth out possible mechanical alterations caused by the catheter.
Finally, treatment with only a single injection-balloon catheter is more cost effective than treatments with two separate catheters for the same purpose.
BRIEF DESCRI PT OI N _0_F__ THE DRAiJING~
~ Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof in connection with the claims and tl-,e drawings:
Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the catheter according to the~-invention with theweedles in their retracted position.
. Fig. 2 shows the catheter of Fig. 1 with the needles extended, ' Fig. 3 shows an operating mechanism for moving a multi-lumen hose within the catheter, Fig. 4 is a radial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention, Fig. 5 shows another embodiment of the catheter according to the invention, Fig. 6 shows an operating mechanism for moving the needles in the catheter according to Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view along line VII-VII of Fig. S, --Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a head por-tion of a combined injection-balloon catheter taken along line VIII-VIII of Fig. 11, Fig. 9 shows the operating mechanism for longi tudinally moving the injection needles in a catheter with connection for the medicine and for inflation~deflation ~ 35 of the balloon, Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view along line X-X of Fig. 8, and ..

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view along tine XI-XI of Fig. 8.
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Fig. 1 shows a catheter 10 which may be ~ inserted into a body on a 1 ead wire in a wel 1-known man ner. The catheter includes an outer shank l2 at whose end a catheter head 14 is mounted. The catheter head 14 can be firmly connected to the outer shank 12 by welding or cementing. The catheter head 14 includes a longitudi nally extending passage 16 receiving a lead wire S. Fur-ther, an inner hose 20 is disposed within the outer shank 12 so as to be longitudinally movable tl-~erein. The hose has a central passage 22 in which the lead wire 5 is dis-posed. The hose is further provided with passages 24 (lumina> with hollow needles 26 mounted thereon at the front end of the catheter. The catheter head l4 includes longitudinal grooves or recesses of a suitable shape (see Fig. 11> which terminate in openings 28 at the side of the catheter head or in the rounded or conical front end of the catheter head.
The hollow needles 26 are pre-bent so that, in the passage 24, they are maintained under a mechanical stress which presses them outwardly onto the outer shank 12. They are prevented from pivoting by side engagement with the groove walls of the opening 28. By sliding the inner hose 20 forwardly within the outer shank 12 the needles are moved forward and, as a result of their pre-bent condition, extend outwardly for engagement with the adjacent vessel wall or they may even pierce the vessel wall so as to reach the adventitia depending on how the operator, based on his experience, operates the device.
It is also possible to forcefully bend the needles out-wardly by moving them along the inner wall of the open-ings 28. After the needles 26 are extended a medicine can be supplied to the tissue through the passage 24 and the needle channel which is not shown in the drawings.
The medicine is emitted from the end faces 30 of the needles 26. The end faces 30 of the needles are prefer-ably so arranged that, in longitudinal direction, they extend parallel to the catheter axis. This means that the area 30 abuts the vessel wall flatly and can be inserted into the tissue only by application of an increased force. If it' is desirable to have the needles enter the tissue, it is advisable to provide a needle end face which is not parallel to the catheter axis such that piercing of the tissue by the needle is facilitated. It i0 is of course possible to use other needle front face w cuts, depending on a particular application, to achieve greater tissue penetration. In the embodiment according to Figs. 1 and 2 several needles 2o are provided and arranged such that they project from the catheter 10 ton-currently at several side5~ of the catheter 1.0 by forward sliding of the inner hose 20 such that the catheter is supported on the vessel wall from all sides and is cen-trically supported. Then the surfaces 30 clearly engage the wall or the needles pierce the wall of the tissue if they are cut for that purpose and the unintended washing away of the medicine is prevented. Also, good contact of the end face 30 with the vessel wall is achieved.

In order to provide good support at least three . needles should be utilized. However any number of needles may be used and they can be evenly or unevenly distributed over the cross-section of the head. 411th a larger number of needles also the amount of medicine admitted through the needles can be increased. With very narrow vessels or veins however there may not be suffi-cient space for a large catheter. Then also only a sin-gle needle may be used.

If several needles are required because of the greater stability and the possibility to introduce a greater amount of medicine, the inner hose 20 is prefer-s ably a multi-lumen hose.

Fig. 3 shows an operating mechanism 32 usable for the catheter of Figs. 1 and 2 for the movement of the a needles within a catheter. This operating mechanism con-sists essentially of two parts 34 and 35. The part 34 is fixed relative to the catheter and will therefore be called stationary part 34. Opposite therefrom there is . a movable part 35. The outer shank 12 is firmly con-nected to the stationary part 34 and the inner hose 20 is connected to the movable part 35. , Guide structures 36 and 38 on the stationary and movable_parts 34. 35 coopzr-ate with one another in such a way that the inner hose 20 can be moved only axially within the outer shank 12.
Both parts 34 and 35 are biased apart by a spring 40.
The distance of the front end of the guide structure 38 from the appositely disposed stop is so chosen that the needles 26 are normally in the retracted position as shown in Fig. i. If the r~bvable part 35 is moved tc~;ard the stationary part 34, the inner hose is moved toward the front end of the catheter until the position accord-ing to Fig. 2 is achieved in which the needles engage the vessel walls as a result of their pre-bent state.
Fig. 3 shows that the inner hose 20 is con - nected to the movable part 35 while the inner lumen 42 continues through the back of the part 35 where it has an opening 44 through which the lead wire 5 extends. The medicine is supplied by way o= a side socket 45 to a dis tribution chamber 46 and then via passages 24 to the needles 26.
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the catheter. This catheter 50 includes an outer shank 12 and a lead wire 5 in the center of the ._ 30 catheter. The outer shank 12 has hol es 52 through which needles 54 can be moved outwardly from within the catheter.
The needles 54 are mounted on an inner hose 56.
Between the inner hose 56 and the lead wire 5 there is an additional hose 58 which is so elastic that it can be . expanded balloon-like when pressurized fluid is admitted to the space between hose 56 and hose 58 until the hose .v ~ 214989 56 abuts the outer shank 12. This expansion moves the needles 54 outwardly through the holes 52 so as to engage or even pierce the surrounding vessel walls. In the shown example the needle points are'formed different from those shown in Figs. 1 and 2. They have an end face which is not parallel to the catheter axis so that the needle points can penetrate deeper into the vessel wall or the adjacent tissue. The advantages of such an arrangement have been given earlier. But it would cer-tainly be possible to provide the needles 54 with front faces 60 which, like the front faces 30 of the first embodiment, flatly bear against the vessel wall.
In the embodiment of Fig. 4 medicine is sup plied to the needles through separate passages connected i5 . to tl-~e bores 55 in the nee~dl a bases and the hol i ow space between the hoses 56 and 58 is pressurized independently.
" This avoids a substantial disadvantage of balloon-like inflatable catheters as presently known because, even with high -inflation pressure, the medicine can be admin istered, far example, under low pressure. Furthermore, the individually selectable movability of the needles which results in different needle penetrations permits different placement of the medicine, for example, into the inner Payers of the vessel, the verse l wall or for storage in the area of the vessel. In addition, it is advantageous that dilatation and medicine injection can be treated as two clearly separate procedures which can be individually controlled. Far this purpose, an operat-ing mechanism of the well-known type can be used by which ~ the pressure fluid and the medicine are. supplied sepa-rately.
.. With such a mechanism for operating the catheter 50 the inflation pressure for expanding the inner hose 56 is admitted to the space between the two hoses 56 and 58 so that dilitation can be performed inde-pendently. The medicine is supplied to the passages-in the space between the needles which are connected to the w~~~~ m4s~s~
needles via a separate connector of the operating mechanism. Both embodiments have the advantage that the use of needles 26 or 54 provides for an accurately con-trollable administration of medicine'to a particular area of the vessel wail. T;,e use of needles with front end faces of particular shapes also provides far some control of the piercing depths of the needles and the delivery depth for the medicine into the surrounding tissue.
Fig. 5 shows another embodiment of a catheter i0 110 wherein elastically outwardly pre-bent needles 26 have tubular extensions 126 which may be formed integral with the needles and which extend through the passages of a multi-lumen hose ca:~eter which passages are large enough to permit longitudinal movement of the extensions therein.
Attached to tn~ front end of the multi-lumen hose is an outer shank 112 in which the needles are guided and into which they can be retracted. The - catheter front end 14 cooperating with the outer shank .. 20 112 is, as mentioned earlier, shaped in such a way that the elastically pre-bent needles 26 are appropriately guided when extended. In accordance with Figs. S and 7 the outer shank 112 may have projections 113 for engaging and guiding the needles in addition to the guidance pro vided by the groove-like openings 28 for preventing piv-oting of the needles when they are extended. The guide rod 5 extends through the front end of the catheter in the normal manner. Preferably the front end of the catheter and the outer shank consist of metal or a hard, easily slidable plastic material.
For axially moving the needles 26 with their extensions 126 the operating mechanism 132 as shown in .Fig. 6 is utilized. Essentially, it corresponds to the operating mechanism shown in Fig. 3. The rear end of the mufti-lumen hose 120 is connected to the stationary part 134 whereas the needle extensions 126 extend to the mov-able part 135 and are mounted there in such a way that fluid or medicine can be supplied under pressure from the distribution cavity 139 to the needle extensions 126.
Operation of the operating mechanism is as described in connection with Fig. 3. The mechanism is shaped so as to ~ be operable by one hand.
There may be an even number or an uneven number -. of needles and they may be evenly or unevenly distributed over the catheter cross-section.
It is also possible that, with the use of, for i0 example, two needles, the lead wire 5 is disposed off center, for example, in a third passage of the multi lumen hose. in this case, the lead wire may also project from the front end of the catheter off-center.
A catheter of the type described has preferably _ a diameter of between 0.5 to 5 mm with a catheter head length of 1 mm to 10 mm.
Fig. 8 shows another embodiment of the inven-tion wherein a balloon 211 is arranged in front of the injection head 210. In this case, the Lead wire extends . only through the interior of the balloon as it is common pith the so-called monorail catheters. The front end 214 ._ of the injection head corresponds essentially to the arrangement according to Fig. S wherein the catheter front end 214 is connected to the multi-lumen hose 220 by means of an outer shank 212. The hollow needles 26 extend from the catheter head 214 through the multi-lumen hose 220 up to the operating mechanism of Fig. 9 where _ the needles are connected to the operating mechanism as described below.
The fluid for the inflation is supplied through the inner lumen 216 of the mufti-lumen hose 220 which inner lumen extends as a passage through the catheter head 214 and terminates in the Tumen for the inflation of the balloon 211.
Figs. 10 and 11 are two cross-sectiona l views of the catheter head wherein Fig. 10 shows a multi-lumen hose 220 which is surrounded by an outer shank 212 in =' 214fi989 which the passages for the hollow needles and their extensions 226 are disposed relative to one another in a triangular array. Reinforcement wires 230 are disposed between the passages for the needle extensions and are molded into the mufti-lumen hose material. They insure that the catheter will not kink sidewardly during move-ment of the needles in the catheter. ' . Fig. 9 shows how the op-stating mechanism 232 facilitates slidingly moving the needles, that is, their extensions 226, through the multi-lumen hose 220 for the injection of medicine. Again the operating mechanism includes a stationary part 234 and a movable part 235 which, by means of a spring 240, are maintained spaced from one another in which position ti,e hollow needles are retracted into the catheter head 214. The travel length, that is, the distance by which the needles can be extended from the catheter head, is determined by the stop pin 230 which is mounted in the stationary part 234 and which is received in a groove 231 in the movable part 235. The length of the groove 231 determines the needle travel distance.
The multi-lumen hose 220 is cemented into the front end of the stationary part 234 so as to ~be firmly . retained therein. Correspondingly, the section 236 of a multi-lumen hose is firmly mounted in the movable part ' 235 through Which the ends of the needle extensions 226 extend to the distribution chamber 238 and into which they are cemented for movement therewith. This permits movement of the needles and of the catheter head when the operating mechanism is operated as indicated by the arrows.
The inner lumen 216 is bent outwardly in the stationary part 234 and terminates in a connector 245 through which the fluid for the inflation of the balloon is. supplied in the known manner. Via the same connection also deflation of the balloon is achieved.

The movable part 235 includes a corresponding connector 246 which provides for communication with the distribution chamber 238 and through which medicine is supplied in the usual manner.
In order to facilitate understanding, same fig-ures show the components enlarged for better recognition of tf-~e features of the invention.
,.

Claims

We claim:

1. A catheter for the injection of a fluid, into a body cavity comprising: a catheter head with a catheter shank having a longitudinal axis and being insertable into said body cavity through an insertion passage, a plurality of needles distributed in a predetermined pattern around, and disposed in, the catheter head movably between a retracted position in which the needles are disposed within the catheter head and an extended position in which the front ends of the needles project from the catheter head through openings formed therein, said needles being mounted on a multi-lumen hose which is longitudinally movably supported within the catheter, said catheter being provided at its end opposite the catheter head with an operating mechanism including two spaced relatively movable parts, said catheter shank being connected to one part of said operating mechanism and said multi-lumen hose with a plurality of individual passages being connected to the other part, said parts being held in spaced relationship by a spring opposing their compression, said multi-lumen hose moving the needles connected thereto from their retracted positions to their extended positions upon compression of the two parts against the force applied by said spring, said needles being hollow so as to form needle passages and being in communication with the individual passages in said multi-lumen hose, said other part including a distribution chamber in communication with said individual passages and connected to means for supplying said fluid or medicine for transmitting it to said needles for injection into the walls of said body cavity.

2. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein said needles have tubular extension disposed in the catheter, said tubular extensions being connected to a supply of fluid or medicine for admitting it to said needles.

3. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein the needles a:re arranged around the catheter head at evenly spaced intervals of 120À.

4. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein said needles leave front faces, which, in the extended positions of the needles, are parallel to the catheter axis.

5. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein said needles have front faces which, in the extended positions of the needles, are disposed at an angle with regard to the catheter axis.

6. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein said needles have pre-bent end portions which are held in said catheter shank under tension so that, upon forward movement of the needles, they bend outwardly through openings in the catheter head.

7. A catheter according to claim 6, wherein said catheter head includes a needle guide structure for holding said needles in proper orientation and guiding them through the openings in said catheter head.

8. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein a balloon is disposed in front of the catheter head and is in communication with one passage in the multi-lumen hose for inflation and deflation of said balloon.

9. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein a lead wire extends through said multi-lumen hose and through said catheter head for guiding the catheter upon insertion into said body cavities.

10. A catheter for the injection of fluid into a body cavity comprising: a catheter head with a catheter shank insertable into said body cavity through an insertion passage, a plurality of needles distributed in a predetermined pattern around, and disposed in, the catheter shank movably between a retracted position in which the needles are disposed within the catheter shank and an extended position in which the front ends of the needles project from the catheter shank out the catheter head, said needles having extensions movably received in a multi-lumen hose which has a plurality of individual passages receiving individual needle extensions and which is disposed in said catheter shank, an operating mechanism mounted too the end of said catheter opposite the catheter hose and including two spaced relatively movable parts, said multi-lumen hose being connected to one part of said operating mechanism and said needle extensions being connected to the other part of said operating mechanism, said parts being held in spaced relationship by a spring opposing their compression, said needle extensions being moved in said multi-lumen hose passages upon compression of said two parts against the force of said spring so as to move said needles from their retracted positions to their outwardly extended positions, said needles and said needle extensions being hollow and being connected to said other part of said operating mechanism, said other part including a distribution chamber in communication with said hollow needle extensions and connected to means for supplying said fluid or medicine thereto for transmitting it to said needles for injection of said fluid into the walls of said body cavity.

11. A catheter according to claim 10, wherein a balloon is disposed in front of the catheter head and is in communication with one passage in the multi-lumen hose for inflation and deflation of said balloon.

12. A catheter according to claim 10, wherein a lead wire extends through said multi-lumen hose and through said catheter for guiding the catheter upon insertion into said body cavities.

13. A catheter according to claim 10, wherein a balloon is disposed in front of the catheter head and is in communication with one passage of the multi-lumen hose for inflation and deflation of said balloon and a lead wire extends through said balloon for guiding said catheter upon insertion into said body cavities.

14. A catheter according to claim 13, wherein said lead wire extends through said catheter head and said multi-lumen hose.

15. A catheter for the injection of a fluid into a body cavity comprising: a catheter head with a catheter shank insertable into said body cavity through an insertion passage, a plurality of needles distributed in a predetermined pattern around, and disposed in, the catheter head and being movable between a retracted position in which the needles are disposed within the catheter head and an extended position in which the front ends of the needles project from the catheter head through openings formed therein, said needles being mounted on an inner hose, an additional hose disposed within said inner hose defining a sealed passageway, means for supplying pressurized fluid to said passageway for expanding the inner hose and for forcing the inner hose outwardly for outward movement of the needles through the openings in the catheter head, said needles being supplied with an injection fluid by passages provided within said inner hose.

16. A catheter according to claim 15, wherein a lead wire extends through said additional hose and through said catheter for guiding the catheter upon insertion into said body cavities.