Apparatus for delivering endoluminal prostheses and methods of making and using them
US6945989B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 18, 2000 |
| Grant date | Sep 20, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 18, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61F2/97
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An apparatus for delivering a stent into a blood vessel includes a sheath having a rounded bullet-shaped distal portion including a plurality of flexible leaflets integrally molded thereto. The stent is disposed in its contracted condition within a lumen of the sheath proximate the distal portion. A bumper is slidably disposed within the lumen that includes a helical compression coil, a bumper element attached to the helical coil including a blunt distal edge for abutting the stent, and an extension element extending distally from the bumper element through the stent and between the leaflets to facilitate introducing the apparatus over a guidewire. The sheath is formed by inserting a bullet into a blunt-ended tube, and inserting the tube into a bullet-shaped bore in a heated die until the tube material is softened and deforms into a rounded bullet shape. Slits are then cut into the distal portion to create the leaflets.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.