STENT WITH SEGMENTED GRAFT
First Claim
1. A stent-graft comprising:
- a single expandable stent of a particular length; and
a plurality of discrete and separate grafts each lining a different portion of the expandable stent, as determined by being longitudinally displaced along the particular length, each graft having a first end attached to the stent and a second end not attached to the stent.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A stent-graft comprising an expandable stent and a plurality of graft segments, each graft segment having a first end attached to the stent and a second end not attached to the stent. In one embodiment, the plurality of overlapped graft segments form a continuous conduit wherein each overlap between axially adjacent graft segments comprises a fluid-tight seal when the stent in the radially expanded configuration sandwiches the graft segments against a wall of a body lumen. In another embodiment, there are one or more discontinuities in the plurality of graft segments. The discontinuities may be aligned with branch lumens. The graft segments may be cut perpendicular to the stent-graft axis, or on a bias. A delivery system for and method of deploying the stent-graft are also claimed.
58 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A stent-graft comprising:
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a single expandable stent of a particular length; and a plurality of discrete and separate grafts each lining a different portion of the expandable stent, as determined by being longitudinally displaced along the particular length, each graft having a first end attached to the stent and a second end not attached to the stent. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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7. The stent-graft of claim 7, wherein the self-expanding material comprises nitinol.
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23. A stent-graft adapted for deployment inside a body lumen in a distal deployment location from a proximal access location outside the body lumen, the stent-graft comprising:
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a single expandable stent of a particular length underlying a plurality of discrete and separate graft segments, as determined by being longitudinally displaced along the particular length, each of the graft segments having a distal upstream end attached to the stent and a proximal downstream end not attached to the stent; a plurality of links at or near the distal upstream end of each graft segment for linking the stent and the graft segments together; and a lapped interface between at least one pair of axially adjacent graft segments in which the proximal downstream end of a distal graft segment axially overlaps the distal upstream end of a proximal graft segment. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. A stent-graft adapted for deployment inside a body lumen having fluid therein that flows from an upstream direction to a downstream direction, the stent-graft comprising:
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a single expandable stent of a particular length; a plurality of discrete and separate graft segments overlying the stent, as determined by being longitudinally displaced along the particular length, each graft segment having an upstream end and a downstream end and linked to the stent only at or near the upstream end, wherein for each graft segment the downstream end overlaps the upstream end of a first axially adjacent graft segment, the upstream end overlaps the downstream end of a second axially adjacent graft segment, or both. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. A stent-graft adapted for deployment inside a body lumen having fluid therein that flows from an upstream direction to a downstream direction, the stent-graft comprising:
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a single expandable stent of a particular length; a first graft segment having an upstream end and a downstream end, the first graft segment attached to the stent only at the first graft segment upstream end; and a second graft segment discrete and separate from the first graft segment, as determined by being longitudinally displaced along the particular length, having an upstream end and attached to the stent only at the second graft segment upstream end in an axial location that is upstream of the downstream end of the first graft segment, such that the first graft segment downstream end overlaps the first graft segment upstream end and the first graft segment downstream end is not attached to the stent.
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28. A delivery system for deploying a stent-graft inside a body lumen having fluid therein that flows from an upstream direction to a downstream direction, the delivery system comprising:
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a stent graft having a compressed configuration and an expanded configuration, the stent-graft comprising; a single expandable stent of a particular length and a plurality of discrete and separate graft segments overlying the stent, as determined by being longitudinally displaced along the particular length, each graft segment having a first upstream end attached to the stent and a second downstream end not attached to the stent; and an outer sheath overlying the stent-graft in the compressed configuration and retractable in the downstream direction. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for delivering a stent-graft into a body lumen, the stent-graft having a compressed configuration and an expanded configuration, the body lumen having an intraluminal fluid therein flowing in a downstream direction from an upstream location, the method comprising:
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introducing a delivery system into the body lumen, the delivery system comprising the stent-graft in the compressed configuration and an outer sheath overlying the stent graft, the stent-graft comprising; a single expandable stent of a particular length and a plurality of discrete and separate graft segments overlying the stent, as determined by being longitudinally displaced along the particular length, each graft segment having an upstream end attached to the stent and a downstream end not attached to the stent; retracting the outer sheath in the downstream direction such that when a first graft segment is completely unsheathed, the intraluminal fluid flows in a first path through the stent and between the downstream end of the first graft segment and the upstream end of the outer sheath until an upstream end of a second graft segment is unsheathed sufficiently to cut off flow through the first path, the intraluminal fluid then flowing through a second path through the stent between the downstream end of the second graft segment and the outer sheath when the second graft segment is completely unsheathed; and continuing to retract the outer sheath until the stent-graft is fully deployed. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification