Stent delivery system having a fixed guidewire
US6936065B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 30, 2002 |
| Grant date | Aug 30, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 20, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61M2025/1004
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention is a stent delivery system that uses short section of guidewire fixedly attached to the distal section of a balloon angioplasty catheter onto which a stent is co-axially mounted. By not having a guidewire that slides through the balloon of the balloon angioplasty catheter, the deflated balloon on which the stent is mounted can have a reduced diameter. Therefore, the outer diameter of the pre-deployed stent mounted onto that balloon is also minimized. This provides a smaller profile, i.e., a smaller outer diameter, for the stent. The time to perform a stent delivery procedure is reduced; a separate guidewire does not have to be placed prior to using the stent delivery system to place the stent at the site of a stenosis. Another embodiment of the present invention has a core wire that extends for nearly the entire length of the stent delivery system, the guidewire having different levels of stiffness for different portions of the core wire's length.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.