Axial Pullwire Tension Mechanism for Self-Expanding Stent

• US 20090099640A1
• Filed: 03/28/2007
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ning Weng
• Original Assignee: Ning Weng
• Inventors: Weng, Ning
• Application Number:
  US12/295,059
• Publication Number:
  US 20090099640A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.11
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/90 characterised by a net-like or mesh-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/95 Instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9505 having retaining means other than an outer sleeve, e.g. male-female connector between stent and instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9511 the retaining means being filaments or wires

Abstract

An axial pull wire tension mechanism for a self expanding stent includes a delivery system composed of an inner tube (2), a middle tube (5) and a lock wire (3), open wire knees (102) and/or close wire eyelets (103) at the both ends of the stent, and pull wires (4) for tensioning the stent. The pull wires (4) include at least one distal pull wire (42) and at least one proximal pull wire (43). A pull wire ring (421, 431) is provided at the distal end of each of the pull wires. Each pull wire passes through an opening of the inner tubing head (7) or the inner tube (2) or the middle tube (S) after the pull wire ring at its distal end is threaded through and locked temporarily by the lock wire, and travels between the open wire knees (102) or the close wire eyelets (103) at one end of the stent to constitute a temporary stent connection, thus forming the pull wire tension mechanism that can axially tension the stent. The present invention can locate the self-expanding stent in terms of its axial and rotational positions with great precision when in collaboration with the delivery system and the radially compression mechanism during the process of delivering the self-expanding stent into the patient'"'"'s body, and is capable of either further adjustment should the position prove to be less ideal, or recycling should the stent prove to be incongruous after the expansion of the stent.

Claims

1. An axial pull wire tension mechanism for self-expanding stent employed for radially tensioning the stent during an implantation of a self-expanding stent into the cardiac blood vessels, said self-expanding stent comprises a radially transformable tubular net structure, of which net fibers intertwine to form multiple transformable units, two ends of the stent comprises a plurality of open wire knees and sealed wire eyelets, said self-expanding stent can be implanted into the cardiac blood vessels after being radially compressed by a class of open-ended delivery system that comprises inner tubes, optional middle tubes, a proximal end controller, stayguys and lock wires, a further end of the inner tubes is conjunct with an inner tubing heads whereas an outer flank of its distal end is conjunct with sidelining texturing tubes, with the middle tube sliding along the outer layer of the inner tube, the proximal end controller is fixed at proximal ends of both the inner and middle tubes with guy ports at each end, the lock wire is set in the layer between the inner tube and the middle tube;

wherein said axial pull wire tension mechanism comprises the inner tubes, the middle tubes, the lock wires, the open wire knees and the sealed wire eyelets at the ends of the stent that together assemble a delivery system, and pull wires for tensioning the stent, said inner tubes at least have one proximal-sideline openings at the proximal end and at least one distal sideline and one proximal sideline openings at the distal end, said middle tube have one distal end opening and at least one optional distal sideline opening, said pull wire at least has one distal end pull wire at the conjunction with the distal end of the stent and one proximal end pull wire at the conjunction with the proximal end of the stent, with a pull wire ring at the distal end of each pull wire, with a pull wire ring at the distal end being threaded through and temporarily locked up by lock wires, pull wires pass through the tubing heads or the openings of the inner/middle tubes and travel between the open wire knees at the distal/proximal end of the stent, sealed wire eyelets at the ends of middle of the stent, and the transformable units in the middle to produce a temporary network that spawns the pull wire tension mechanism capable of radially tensioning the stent.

2. The axial pull wire tensioning mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 1, wherein there is one said distal and proximal pull wire, respectively, of which the distal pull wire, after being locked by the lock wire in the inner tube at the distal pull wire ring, passes through a sideline opening of the inner tubing head or a distal opening of the inner tube, and travels through one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelet to form a temporary conjunction at the distal end of the stent, whereas the proximal pull wire, after being locked at the distal pull wire ring by lock wire in the inner tube or between the inner and middle tubes, goes through a proximal opening of the inner tube or a distal opening of the middle tube and then travels through one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelet at the proximal end of the stent to form a temporary conjunction at the proximal end of the stent;

said open wire knees or sealed wire eyelets through which the distal pull wires or proximal pull wires pass can be located in a longitudinal alignment or placed with certain angles.

3. The axial pull wire tensioning mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 1, wherein there are two said distal and proximal pull wires, respectively, of which the two distal pull wires, after being locked at the distal pull wire ring by the same/or different lock wires in the inner tube, thread a sideline opening or the same/or different distal openings of the inner tube, and then pass through one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelet at the distal end of the stent to form two independent temporary conjunctions at the distal end of the stent, whereas the two proximal pull wires, after being locked at the distal pull wire ring by lock wires in the inner tube or between the inner and middle tubes, respectively, go through a proximal opening of the inner tube or a distal opening of the middle tube, and then travel through one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelet at the proximal end of the stent to form two independent temporary conjunctions at the proximal end of the stent;

the open wire knees or the sealed wire eyelet through which said two distal pull wires pass are located at the relative two sides of the distal end of the stent, whereas the open wire knees or the sealed wire eyelet through which the said two proximal pull wires pass are located at the relative two sides of the proximal end of the stent and are in vertical alignment or are perpendicular with the open wire knees or the sealed wire eyelet through which the two distal pull wires pass.

4. The axial pull wire tension mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 1, wherein there are three said distal and proximal pull wires respectively, of which the three distal pull wires, after being locked respectively at the distal pull wire ring by the same/or different lock wires in the inner tube, thread a sideline opening or the same/or different distal openings of the inner tube, and then travel through one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelets to form three independent temporary conjunctions at the distal end of the stent, whereas the three proximal pull wires, after being locked respectively at the distal pull wire ring by lock wires in the inner tube or between the inner and middle tubes, thread the same/or different sideline openings of the inner tube, or the same/different distal openings of the middle tube, and then travel through one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelet to form three independent temporary conjunctions at the proximal end of the stent, the open wire knees or sealed wire eyelet through which the said three distal pull wires travel through are equiangularly located at the distal end of the stent, whereas the open wire knees or the sealed wire eyelets through which the three said proximal pull wire pass are equiangularly located at the proximal end of the stent, and are in vertical alignment or a 60-degree angle with the open wire knees or the sealed wire eyelet through which the three distal pull wires pass.

5. The axial pull wire tension mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 1, wherein there is one distal and proximal pull wire respectively, of which the distal pull wire, after being locked at the distal pull wire ring by the lock wire in the inner tube, threads through a sideline opening of the inner tubing head or a distal sideline opening of the inner tube, and travels through one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelets at the distal end of the stent before going through another one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelet at the distal end of the stent to form a secondary temporary conjunction of the distal end of the stent;

whereas the proximal pull wire, after being locked at the distal pull wire ring by lock wires in the inner tube or between the inner and middle tubes, threads through a proximal opening of the inner tube or a distal opening of the middle tube, and travels through one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelet at the proximal end of the stent before going through another one or two open wire knees or a sealed wire eyelet at the proximal end of the stent to form a temporary secondary conjunction at the proximal end of the stent, the open wire knees and the sealed wire eyelet through which the said distal pull wire passes in the secondary structure are located in the relative two sides of the distal end of the stent, whereas open wire knees or sealed wire eyelet through which the proximal pull wire passes in the secondary structure are located in the relative two sides at the proximal end of the stent, and are in alignment or are approximately perpendicular with the two open wire knees or sealed wire eyelets through which the distal pull wires pass in the secondary structure.

6. The axial pull wire tension mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 2 or 3 or 4 or 5, wherein said distal pull wire, upon completion of the temporary conjunction at the distal end of the stent, may travel through into inner tube or into the interlayer between the stent and the inner tube via the same/or different distal sideline opening of the inner tube before coming out through pull wire openings at the proximal end of the inner tube or middle tube, whereas the proximal pull wire, upon completion of the temporary conjunction at the proximal end of the stent, may travel into the inner tube through the same/or different proximal sideline openings of the inner tube, or into the interlayer between the middle tube and the inner tube through distal openings or distal sideline openings of the middle tube before coming out through pull wire opening at the proximal end of the inner tube or the middle tube.

7. The axial pull wire tensioning mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 1 or 3 or 4, wherein said two or three distal pull wires can be pulled out respectively through pull wire openings at the proximal end of the inner tube or middle tube and controlled separately to trigger the asymmetrical expansion at the distal end of the stent;

whereas the said two or three proximal pull wires can be pulled out respectively through pull wire openings at the proximal end of the inner tube or middle tube and controlled separately to spark the asymmetrical expansion at the proximal end of the stent.

8. The axial pull wire tension mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 1 or 3 or 4, wherein said two or three distal pull wires may conglomerate to form a bus line anywhere between the temporary conjunction at the distal end of the stent and the distal end of the pull wire, through the control of which the distal end of the stent undergoes symmetrical expansion, whereas the said two or three proximal pull wires may conglomerate to form a bus line anywhere between the temporary conjunction at the proximal end of the stent and the proximal end of the pull wire, through the control of which the proximal end of the stent undergoes symmetrical expansion;

by pulling and pushing the bus lines of the distal and proximal pull wires, the distal or proximal end of the stent undergoes asymmetrical expansion.

9. The axial pull wire tension mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 1, wherein said proximal end of a distal pull wire may merge with the proximal end of a proximal pull wire, thereby substantiating the idea to simultaneously control the distal and proximal pull wires to axially tension the stent towards both ends by pulling the proximal end of just one wire.

10. The axial pull wire tension mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 8, wherein said bus lines of all distal pull wires and proximal pull wires may merge, thereby allowing the stent to relax or tension almost symmetrically by pulling or pushing just one bus line that controls all distal and proximal pull wires.

11. The axial pull wire tension mechanism for self-expanding stent according to claim 1, wherein said structure above also includes an inner tube line for distal direction control that is sliding in the lock wire cavity or outside the inner tube and whose distal end is connected with the distal end of the inner tube, with its proximal end threading through the proximal end of the inner tube and being free.