Multi-sheath delivery catheter
First Claim
1. A multi-sheath delivery catheter for introducing a prosthesis into a body lumen comprising:
- (a) an outer sheath adapted to contain a portion of the prosthesis and having an inner surface with at least a portion having a non-round cross-section;
(b) a middle sheath slideably disposed at least partly within said outer sheath and adapted to contain another portion of the prosthesis, said middle sheath having a distal end with a first handle attached thereto that has at least a portion with a non-round cross-section corresponding to and engaging said non-round cross-section of said inner surface of said outer sheath; and
(c) a pusher slideably disposed at least partly within said middle sheath and adapted to engage the prosthesis;
whereby relative rotational movement between said outer sheath and said middle sheath is prevented by virtue of the engagement of said non-round cross-section of said first handle with said non-round cross-section of said inner surface of said outer sheath.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-sheath delivery catheter and method for introducing a prosthesis into a body lumen involving use of (a) an outer sheath adapted to contain a portion of the prosthesis and having an inner surface with a non-round cross-section; (b) a middle sheath slideably disposed at least partly within the outer sheath and adapted to contain another portion of the prosthesis, the middle sheath having a distal end with a first handle attached to it that has a non-round cross-section corresponding to and engaging the non-round cross-section of the inner surface of the outer sheath; and (c) a pusher slideably disposed at least partly within the middle sheath and adapted to engage the prosthesis, whereby relative rotational movement between the outer sheath and the middle sheath is prevented by virtue of the engagement of the non-round cross-section of the first handle with the non-round cross-section of the inner surface of the outer sheath. In another aspect, the invention provides a delivery catheter having a mechanism for sequentially retracting concentric tubes to deploy the prosthesis. In another aspect, the invention provides a mechanism for preventing relative axial movement of concentric tubes. In another aspect, the invention provides a delivery system for introducing a prosthesis to a body lumen including a nose cone having a hole formed through it that is adapted to communicate with both the interior of the catheter and the ambient environment before insertion of the nose cone into the body lumen, whereby said hole allows flushing of the catheter to remove air bubbles therefrom before insertion into the body lumen. In another aspect, this invention provides a method for preventing leakage of fluid from an interior of a delivery catheter by disposing the outer tube on a mandrel having a cross-sectional area substantially equivalent to that of the inner tube, applying a compressive force to a portion of the outer tube, heating the outer tube to shrink it around the mandrel, and assembling the outer tube concentrically over the inner tube such that a seal is created between the portion of the outer tube and the inner tube.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A multi-sheath delivery catheter for introducing a prosthesis into a body lumen comprising:
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(a) an outer sheath adapted to contain a portion of the prosthesis and having an inner surface with at least a portion having a non-round cross-section;
(b) a middle sheath slideably disposed at least partly within said outer sheath and adapted to contain another portion of the prosthesis, said middle sheath having a distal end with a first handle attached thereto that has at least a portion with a non-round cross-section corresponding to and engaging said non-round cross-section of said inner surface of said outer sheath; and
(c) a pusher slideably disposed at least partly within said middle sheath and adapted to engage the prosthesis;
whereby relative rotational movement between said outer sheath and said middle sheath is prevented by virtue of the engagement of said non-round cross-section of said first handle with said non-round cross-section of said inner surface of said outer sheath. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. In a multi-sheath delivery catheter for introducing a prosthesis to a body lumen having an outer sheath with an inner surface, a middle sheath having a distal end and being slideably disposed at least partly within said outer sheath, and a pusher having a distal end and being slideably disposed at least partly within said middle sheath, the improvement comprising:
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(a) a non-round cross-section formed in said inner surface; and
(b) a handle attached to the distal end of the middle sheath that has a non-round cross-section corresponding to and engaging said non-round cross section formed in said inner surface. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A method for introducing a prosthesis to a body lumen using a multi-sheath delivery catheter having an outer sheath with an inner surface, a middle sheath having a distal end and being slideably disposed at least partly within said outer sheath, and a pusher having a distal end and being slideably disposed at least partly within said middle sheath, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) forming a non-round cross-section in said inner surface of said outer sheath; and
(b) attaching to the distal end of the middle sheath a handle that has a non-round cross-section corresponding to and engaging said non-round cross section formed in said inner surface of said outer sheath. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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- 15. A delivery catheter for introducing a prosthesis to a body lumen comprising a plurality of concentric tubes, at least one of which is adapted to contain at least a portion of the prosthesis, and means for sequentially retracting said tubes to deploy the prosthesis.
- 17. A delivery catheter for introducing a prosthesis to a body lumen comprising a plurality of concentric tubes, at least a portion of one of which is adapted to contain at least a portion of the prosthesis during introduction to the body lumen, and means for preventing relative axial movement of said tubes.
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23. A delivery system for introducing a prosthesis to a body lumen comprising:
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(a) a guidewire;
(b) a catheter with a lumen adapted to slide over said guidewire, a proximal end, an interior, and a plurality of concentric tubes, at least one of which is adapted to contain at least a portion of the prosthesis during introduction to the body lumen; and
(c) a nose cone disposed around said guide wire at said proximal end of said catheter, said nose cone having means for flushing of said catheter and prosthesis to remove air therefrom before insertion into the body lumen. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A method for preventing leakage of fluid from an interior of a delivery catheter having an outer tube and an inner tube used for introducing a prosthesis to a body lumen comprising the steps of:
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(a) disposing said outer tube on a mandrel having a cross-sectional area substantially equivalent to that of the inner tube;
(b) applying a compressive force to a portion of said outer tube;
(c) heating said outer tube to shrink it around said mandrel; and
(d) assembling said outer tube concentrically over said inner tube such that a seal is created between said portion of said outer tube and said inner tube. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A delivery catheter for introducing a prosthesis into a body lumen comprising a visual indicator, disposed on said prosthesis, illustrating the orientation of the prosthesis.
Specification