Means for accurately positioning an expandable stent
First Claim
1. A stent delivery catheter having a distal portion and having an inflatable balloon located at the distal portion of the stent delivery catheter, the stent delivery catheter also having an expandable stent releasably attached to the inflatable balloon, the stent delivery catheter also having a proximal radiopaque marker band and a distal radiopaque marker band each fixedly attached to the distal portion of the stent delivery catheter, the longitudinal length between the proximal marker band and the distal marker band being essentially the same length as the length of the stent after the inflatable balloon is inflated to its nominal diameter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
One aspect of the present invention envisions two radiopaque marker bands located within the balloon of the balloon angioplasty catheter for balloon expandable stents, or located at a distal portion of a stent delivery catheter designed for self-expanding stents. When the balloon is expanded to its nominal diameter, the proximal marker band (of the two bands) is positioned to indicate the proximal extremity of the stent and the distal marker band is used to indicate the distal extremity of the stent. A second aspect of this invention envisions one or more radiopaque marker bands placed onto a distal portion of a stent delivery catheter with each radiopaque marker band indicating the position of a special expandable cell of the stent, which cell can be placed at the ostium of a side branch artery where that side branch enters into a main artery. The interventionalist would align such a radiopaque marker band with the ostium of the side branch prior to stent deployment. After stent deployment, the balloon of a balloon angioplasty catheter would be inserted through the special cell of the stent and into the side branch. The balloon would then be inflated to high pressure so as to open that special stent cell where the struts of that cell would otherwise block the flow of blood into that side branch.
329 Citations
6 Claims
- 1. A stent delivery catheter having a distal portion and having an inflatable balloon located at the distal portion of the stent delivery catheter, the stent delivery catheter also having an expandable stent releasably attached to the inflatable balloon, the stent delivery catheter also having a proximal radiopaque marker band and a distal radiopaque marker band each fixedly attached to the distal portion of the stent delivery catheter, the longitudinal length between the proximal marker band and the distal marker band being essentially the same length as the length of the stent after the inflatable balloon is inflated to its nominal diameter.
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6. A set of two or more balloon angioplasty catheters of varying nominal balloon diameters, each balloon angioplasty catheter having a distal portion, each balloon angioplasty catheter also having an inflatable balloon, and a stent releasably attached to the inflatable balloon and two radiopaque marker bands each located at the distal portion of the balloon angioplasty catheter, the separation length between the radiopaque marker bands on each balloon angioplasty catheter being the same length as the length of the stent mounted on that same balloon angioplasty catheter after the stent is deployed by the inflatable balloon to the balloon'"'"'s nominal diameter.
Specification