Embolus supply system and method
First Claim
1. An apparatus for supplying an embolus to a delivery tube, the apparatus comprisinga magazine containing a plurality of emboli,means for moving the magazine relative to the delivery tube to place a selected one of the emboli in the magazine in communication with the delivery tube, andmeans for discharging said selected one of the emboli from the magazine into the delivery tube.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method is provided for dispensing coil emboli one at a time in a controlled and reliable manner during surgery to embolize several blood vessels or the like in a body. The apparatus includes a magazine that is movable within a dispenser housing to position each of the embolus cartridges contained in the magazine one at a time at a dispensing station on command. A stream of pressurized fluid is injected or a guide wire is inserted into the embolus cartridge held in the dispensing station to dislodge an embolus contained therein and discharge it into an embolus-delivery catheter coupled to the dispenser housing. Afterwards, the magazine is moved within the dispenser housing to remove the just-emptied embolus cartridge from the dispensing station and load a fresh embolus cartridge into the dispensing station.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. An apparatus for supplying an embolus to a delivery tube, the apparatus comprising
a magazine containing a plurality of emboli, means for moving the magazine relative to the delivery tube to place a selected one of the emboli in the magazine in communication with the delivery tube, and means for discharging said selected one of the emboli from the magazine into the delivery tube.
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8. An apparatus for supplying an embolus to a delivery tube, the apparatus comprising
a magazine containing a plurality of hollow cartridges, each cartridge containing an embolus therein and including outlet means for communicating with the delivery tube, means for moving the magazine relative to the delivery tube to place a selected one of the cartridges in the magazine in communication with the delivery tube, and means for discharging the embolus in the selected one of the cartridges from the magazine into the delivery tube, each cartridge further including inlet means for communicating with the discharging means.
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14. An apparatus for supplying an embolus to a delivery tube, the apparatus comprising
a magazine containing a plurality of emboli, means for moving the magazine relative to the delivery tube to place a selected one of the emboli in the magazine in communication with the delivery tube, and means for discharging said selected one of the emboli from the magazine into the delivery tube, the moving means including a hollow housing containing the magazine, means for guiding the magazine as it moves within the hollow housing to place each selected one of the emboli in communication with the delivery tube, and means for using a stream of pressurized fluid to move the magazine within the hollow housing to place each embolus in the magazine sequentially in communication with the delivery tube so that each embolus can be discharged into the delivery tube one at a time by the discharging means.
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20. An apparatus for supplying an embolus to a delivery tube, the apparatus comprising
a hollow housing formed to include an inlet and outlet, a magazine containing a plurality of spaced-apart embolus cartridges arranged in a series, each embolus cartridge being formed to include a passageway extending therethrough and containing an embolus therein, means for moving the magazine inside the housing to align each embolus cartridge in the series in sequence one at a time in an embolus-discharging position within the housing so that the passageway of the embolus cartridge situated in the embolus-discharging position interconnects the housing inlet and outlet, and means for discharging the embolus contained in the passageway of the embolus cartridge situated in the embolus-discharging position from the embolus cartridge through the housing outlet so that the embolus is supplied to the delivery tube connected to the housing outlet.
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29. An apparatus for supplying an embolus to a delivery tube, the apparatus comprising
a magazine containing a plurality of embolus cartridges arranged in a series, each embolus cartridge being formed to include a fluid-conducting passageway extending therethrough, a hollow housing providing an embolus-discharge station therein and including a housing inlet and outlet and means for guiding the magazine along a guide path intersecting the embolus-discharge station as the magazine moves inside the hollow housing, the housing outlet providing means for connecting to the delivery tube, means for passing a stream of pressurized fluid through the housing inlet into the fluid-conducting passageway in an embolus cartridge temporarily positioned to lie in the embolus-discharge station in communication with both of the housing inlet and outlet so that an embolus provided in the fluid-conducting passageway of the embolus cartridge is discharged through the housing outlet into the delivery tube at least at a predetermined velocity to empty the embolus cartridge positioned in the embolus-discharge station, and means for moving the magazine within the hollow housing along the guide path a predetermined distance to move a just-emptied embolus cartridge out of the embolus-discharge station and a next embolus cartridge in the series of embolus cartridges into the embolus-discharge station to lie in communication with both of the housing inlet and outlet ready to receive the stream of pressurized fluid provided by the passing means.
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32. A method of delivering an embolus to a destination, the method comprising the steps of
inserting a catheter into a body, the catheter being formed to include an inlet, an outlet, and a lumen connecting the inlet to the outlet, guiding the catheter through the body to aim the outlet of the catheter toward the destination, connecting a device containing a plurality of emboli to the inlet of the catheter, providing a stream of pressurized fluid, and using the stream of pressurized fluid to flush one embolus at a time out of the device and move the flushed embolus into and through the lumen to reach the destination.
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39. A method of delivering an embolus to a selected destination, the method comprising the steps of
inserting an outer catheter into a body, the outer catheter being formed to include a lumen having an inlet and an outlet, guiding the outer catheter through the body to aim the outlet of the lumen at the selected destination, inserting an inner catheter into the lumen of the outer catheter, the inner catheter being formed to include an embolus-conducting lumen having an embolus-admitting inlet and an embolus-discharging outlet, moving the inner catheter in the lumen of the outer catheter to project the embolus-discharging outlet through the outlet of the outer catheter so that an embolus discharged from the embolus-conducting lumen is deposited at the selected destination, connecting a device containing a plurality of emboli to the embolus-admitting inlet of the inner catheter, and using a fluid to flush one embolus at a time out of the device and move the flushed embolus into and through the embolus-conducting lumen to reach the selected- destination.
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43. A method of delivery an embolus to a destination, the method comprising the steps of
inserting a catheter into a body, the catheter being formed to include an inlet, an outlet, and a lumen connecting the inlet to the outlet, guiding the catheter through the body to aim the outlet of the catheter toward the destination, connecting a device containing a plurality of emboli to the inlet of the catheter, and discharging one embolus at a time out of the device into and through the lumen of the catheter to reach the destination.
Specification