Apparatus and method for placement of a stent within a subject vessel

• US 5,019,085 A
• Filed: 02/23/1990
• Issued: 05/28/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cordis Corporation (Cardinal Health, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cordis Corporation (Cardinal Health, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hillstead, Richard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thaler, Michael H.
• Application Number:
  US07/484,693
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 606/108, 606/109, 606/139, 606/198, 606/194
• US Class Current: 623/1.11
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/88 the wire-like elements formed as helical or spiral coils forming a net-like or mesh-like structure A61F2/90
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/95 Instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9511 the retaining means being filaments or wires

Abstract

A stent delivery system and method. A stent is routed to a desired position within a vessel within a subject. A delivery wire is routed out an opening in a delivery catheter and looped over a portion of the stent and then routed back inside the delivery catheter. At an extreme distal end of the stent, the wire again exits the delivery catheter, reengages the stent and is pushed back into the catheter center passageway. This compresses the stent into a form whereby the delivery catheter can be maneuvered through a vessel to position the stent. To release the stent from the delivery catheter, the delivery wire is retracted so that its distal end passes out both pair of openings in the delivery catheter allowing the stent to expand into engagement with the vessel wall.

Claims

1. A method for placing a flexible, generally cylindrical wire mesh stent within a blood vessel comprising the steps of:

(a) mounting the stent to a distal end of an elongated catheter by (i) passing a wire through a passageway of said catheter to an opening in the sidewall of the catheter;

(ii) routing the wire out the catheter through the opening to loop over a proximal portion of the stent and returning the wire to the passageway in the catheter;

(iii) passing the wire distally to an additional opening in the catheter; and

(iv) routing the wire out the additional opening over a distal end of the stent and back into the catheter passageway;

(b) inserting the elongated catheter into a subject to move the stent to a placement position within the blood vessel; and

(c) partially releasing the stent by withdrawing the wire from the catheter to release the distal portion of the stent form the wire;

(d) monitoring the partially released stent on a monitor screen; and

(e) retracting the stent from the blood vessel by withdrawing said catheter wire and attached stent from the subject.

2. Apparatus for placing a flexible, generally cylindrical, expandable stent within a blood vessel comprising:

an elongated catheter having a catheter throughpassageway which extends from a proximal end to a distal end of said elongated catheter;

said elongated catheter having a stent delivery portion proximal of said distal end defined by spaced apart openings which extend from the catheter throughpassage through a catheter wall; and

only a single flexible elongated stent retainer for insertion into the catheter passageway to extend from the proximal end of the catheter to the openings in the delivery portion of the catheter where said single stent retainer passes through the catheter wall via said openings to engage said stent and couple the stent to the catheter as the stent is maneuvered within the blood vessel;

said single flexible elongated stent retainer being retractable to release only one end of said stent once the stent is positioned within the blood vessel and allow the stent to contact inner walls of the blood vessel.

3. A method for positioning a stent within a subject blood vessel comprising the steps of:

connecting a stent to a catheter with a flexible stent retainer that extends along the catheter to a stent support portion of the catheter and engages the stent at two or more spaced stent engagement positions;

inserting the catheter and attached stent into a subject and moving the stent to a target region of the subject blood vessel;

partially releasing the stent by manipulating the flexible stent retainer from outside the subject to separate the stent from the stent retainer at one or more stent engagement positions while maintaining an engagement between the stent and flexible stenty retainer at one or more stent engagement positions; and

retracting the stent from the target region of the blood vessel by retracting the catheter and flexible stent retainer;

said step of partially releasing the stent allowing the stent to contact an inner wall of the blood vessel at the target region.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of connecting the stent to the catheter compresses the stent into an insertion configuration and the step of partially releasing the stent allows the stent to expand into engagement with the inner wall of the blood vessel.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the catheter has a plurality of spaced apart openings that extend through a catheter wall at a distal end of the catheter and wherein the connecting step is performed by:

(i) routing the flexible stent retainer along a center throughpassage in the catheter to the region of the spaced apart openings, and

(ii) routing the flexible stent retainer from the center throughpassage via the spaced apart holes to engage the stent at two or more spaced stent engagement positions.

6. A method for positioning a stent within a subject vessel comprising the steps of:

connecting a stent to a catheter with a flexible stent retainer that extends along the catheter to a stent support portion of the catheter and engages the stent at two or more spaced stent engagement positions;

inserting the catheter and attached stent into a subject and moving the stent to a target region of the of the subject vessel;

partially releasing the stent by manipulating the flexible stent retainer from outside the subject to separate the stent form the stent retainer at one or more stent engagement positions while maintaining an engagement between the stent and flexible stent retainer at one or more stent engagement positions; and

retracting the stent from the target region of the vessel by pulling the catheter, stent and the flexible stent retainer from the subject vessel;

said step of partially releasing the stent allowing the stent to contact an inner wall of the vessel at the target region.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the catheter has a plurality of spaced openings that extend through the catheter at a distal end of the catheter and wherein the connecting step is performed by (i) routing the flexible stent retainer along a center through passage in the catheter to the regions of the spaced openings, and (ii) routing the flexible stent retainer from the center through passage via the spaced holes to engage the stent at two or more spaced stent engagement positions.