Catheter and method for a stent delivery system
First Claim
1. A method for deploying one or more stents in a body lumen, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) introducing a catheter shaft into a body lumen;
(b) positioning a first stent about a distal end portion of a first tubular sheath, the first stent being configured in a delivery configuration;
(c) slidably passing the first tubular sheath over a proximal end of the catheter shaft, thereby introducing the first tubular sheath into the body lumen;
(d) positioning the first stent at a first desired location within the body lumen;
(e) securing a detachable proximal hub to the proximal end of the catheter shaft; and
(f) deploying the first stent at the first desired location, wherein said first stent assumes a deployed configuration.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for deploying one or more stents within a body lumen comprises a catheter (such as a dilatation catheter) having a detachable proximal portion. Detaching the proximal portion from the catheter shaft allows a substantially tubular sheath to be slidably received over the proximal end of the catheter shaft. The tubular sheath has one or more substantially tubular stents positioned in a delivery configuration over a distal portion of the sheath. The sheath preferably has a proximal portion that is resistant to compressive forces, so that a user may advance the sheath along the catheter by pushing the sheath proximal end, thereby positioning the stent or stents at a desired deployment location within the body lumen. With the stents in position, the catheter proximal portion can be attached to the catheter shaft, and the stents can be deployed at the desired position. After the stents have been deployed, the catheter proximal hub can be removed, the first sheath slidably removed from the catheter shaft, a second sheath (containing additional stents) slidably introduced over the catheter shaft, the catheter proximal hub reattached, and the additional stents deployed. Thus, multiple stents can be deployed without necessitating removal of the catheter shaft until the procedure is completed.
387 Citations
8 Claims
-
1. A method for deploying one or more stents in a body lumen, the method comprising the steps of:
-
(a) introducing a catheter shaft into a body lumen; (b) positioning a first stent about a distal end portion of a first tubular sheath, the first stent being configured in a delivery configuration; (c) slidably passing the first tubular sheath over a proximal end of the catheter shaft, thereby introducing the first tubular sheath into the body lumen; (d) positioning the first stent at a first desired location within the body lumen; (e) securing a detachable proximal hub to the proximal end of the catheter shaft; and (f) deploying the first stent at the first desired location, wherein said first stent assumes a deployed configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
Specification