Increased friction inner member for stent-graft deployment

• US 20060184227A1
• Filed: 02/11/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Vascular, Inc. (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Medtronic Vascular, Inc. (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Rust, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US11/056,743
• Publication Number:
  US 20060184227A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.130
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/07 Stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/89 the wire-like elements comprising two or more adjacent rings flexibly connected by separate members
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/95 Instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/075 the stent being loosely attached to the graft material, e.g. by stitching
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9665 with additional retaining means

Abstract

A system for treating a vascular condition and methods for assembling and using such a system. The system includes a catheter inner member, a stent framework, a graft material aligned with the stent framework to form a stent-graft assembly, and a slidable sheath. Multiple bands are spaced along the length of a distal portion of the inner member, each band at least partially encircling the inner member. The stent framework includes multiple rings. The stent-graft assembly is mounted on the inner member such that the stent framework rings are interspaced with the inner member bands. The movable sheath encloses the stent-graft assembly. As the sheath is withdrawn to deploy the stent-graft assembly, the interspaced bands and rings restrict axial movement of the assembly and prevent longitudinal compression or buckling of the assembly, as anchoring of the stent-graft assembly is distributed along the length of the inner member.

Claims

1. A system for treating a vascular condition, comprising:

an inner member, a distal portion of the inner member including a plurality of bands spaced along the length of the distal portion, each band circumferentially aligned about the inner member;

a stent framework including a plurality of rings;

a graft material concentrically aligned with the stent framework to form a stent-graft assembly, the stent-graft assembly mounted on the inner member such that the stent framework rings are interspaced with the inner member bands;

a sheath slidably enclosing the stent-graft assembly and at least a portion of the catheter inner member.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each inner member band partially encircles the inner member.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein each inner member band fully encircles the inner member.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein each inner member band is continuous.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the inner member bands comprise a thermoplastic elastomer.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the inner member bands are lengths of heat-shrink tubing.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the inner member bands are bonded to the inner member.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the inner member bands are integral to the inner member.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein each inner member band is substantially rectangular in cross section.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein each inner member band is substantially triangular in cross section.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of at least one of the inner member bands is radiopaque.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the stent framework rings are fully detached one from another.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the stent framework comprises a material selected from a group consisting of a nickel-titanium alloy, a nickel-cobalt alloy, a cobalt alloy, a thermoset plastic, stainless steel, a stainless steel alloy, a biocompatible shape-memory material, a biocompatible superelastic material, and a combination thereof.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the graft material is received within the stent framework.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein a distal portion of the sheath is flared.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the distal portion of the inner member is stiffer than a proximal portion of the inner member.

17. A method of assembling a system for treating a vascular condition, the method comprising:

attaching a plurality of bands to an outer surface of an inner member, the bands distributed along the length of a distal portion of the inner member, each band at least partially encircling the inner member;

concentrically aligning a stent framework with a graft material to form a stent-graft assembly, the stent framework comprising a plurality of rings;

positioning the inner member within the stent-graft assembly such that the inner member bands are interspaced with the stent framework rings;

radially compressing the stent-graft assembly about the inner member; and

positioning the stent-graft assembly and at least a portion of the inner member within a sheath.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising cutting the bands from a length of heat-shrink tubing and wherein attaching a plurality of bands to the outer surface of the inner member comprises heating the bands to attach the bands to the outer surface of the inner member.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein attaching a plurality of bands to the outer surface of the inner member comprises attaching the bands to a sleeve and attaching the sleeve to the inner member.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising forming the inner member bands as integral parts of a sleeve, and wherein attaching a plurality of bands to the outer surface of the inner member comprises attaching the sleeve to the inner member.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein positioning the stent-graft assembly within a sheath comprises pulling on a proximal portion of the inner member to position the stent-graft assembly and at least a portion of the inner member within the sheath.

22. A method of treating a vascular condition, the method comprising:

delivering a sheathed self-expanding stent-graft assembly to a target region of a vessel via a catheter;

retracting the sheath from the stent-graft assembly, while simultaneously restricting axial movement of spaced-apart stent framework segments of the stent-graft assembly at a plurality of spaced-apart stop regions on a distal portion of the catheter.