Appliance to be implanted, method of collapsing the appliance to be implanted and method of using the appliance to be implanted

• US 6,261,317 B1
• Filed: 07/23/1999
• Issued: 07/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kanji Inoue
• Original Assignee: Kanji Inoue
• Inventors: Inoue, Kanji
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirsch, Paul J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Priddy, Michael B.
• Application Number:
  US09/359,135
• Time in Patent Office: 725 Days
• Field of Search: 523/1.11, 523/1.24, 606/108, 606/198
• US Class Current: 623/1.11
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/07 Stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/86 Stents in a form characterised by the wire-like elements; Stents in the form characterised by a net-like or mesh-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/89 the wire-like elements comprising two or more adjacent rings flexibly connected by separate members
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/9522 Means for mounting a stent or stent-graft onto or into a placement instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/9525 using a funnel
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/954 for placing stents or stent-grafts in a bifurcation
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/97 the outer sleeve being splittable
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/065 Y-shaped blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/072 Encapsulated stents, e.g. wire or whole stent embedded in lining
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/075 the stent being loosely attached to the graft material, e.g. by stitching
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9505 having retaining means other than an outer sleeve, e.g. male-female connector between stent and instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9511 the retaining means being filaments or wires
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 623/903 Blood vessel

Abstract

The artificial blood vessel A comprises a front end wire ring 10₁, a rear end wire ring 10₂ arranged facing to the front end wire ring 10₁, a tubular cover 7 which connects the end wire rings 10₁, 10₂, and a plurality of intermediate wire rings 12 arranged spaced apart from each other between the front end wire ring 10₁ and the rear end wire ring 10₂. Each of the front end wire ring 10₁, the rear end wire ring 10₂ and the intermediate wire rings 12 are given flexibly foldable elasticity. The circumference of the front end wire ring 10₁ is equally divided into four by dividing points 41₁, 42₁, 43₁, 44₁. Hooking means 13 are formed for a front pull string to be passed through at the dividing points 41₁, 43₁. The circumference of the intermediate wire ring 12 is fixed to the tubular cover 7 by suturing or with adhesive at the positions 51₃, 52₃, 53₃, 54₃ which correspond to the midpoint 51₁ between the dividing points 41₁, 42₁, the midpoint 52₁ between the dividing points 42₁, 43₁, the midpoint 53₁ between the dividing points 43₁, 44₁, and the midpoint 54₁ between the dividing points 44₁, 41₁.

Claims

1. A device for introducing an appliance to be implanted into a catheter, comprising:

an attachment provided at an open end of the catheter, an open end of the attachment being closed by a first valve; and

a cartridge removably attached to said attachment and having an interior space thereof communicating with an interior space of said catheter when the cartridge is attached to the attachment, an open end of the cartridge being closed by a second valve;

wherein the second valve of the cartridge may be pushed open to introduce the appliance to be implanted into the cartridge, the front end portion of the cartridge is insertable into the catheter by pushing open the first valve of the attachment, with the second valve of the cartridge kept substantially closed, and the cartridge can be fixedly mounted to the attachment when the cartridge is inserted into the attachment.

2. The device for introducing the appliance to be implanted into the catheter described in claim 1, wherein the cartridge is helically connected to the attachment when the cartridge is inserted into the attachment.

3. The device for introducing the appliance to be implanted into the catheter described in claim 2, wherein the cartridge comprises an end member inside of which the second valve is arranged, a straw member which liquid tightly extends from one end of the end member, a guide pipe whose one end is mounted on the end member with the straw member contained therein and at the other end of which is formed a relatively large portion and a cap which loosely fits over an external surface of the guide pipe;

and wherein

the cap is helically mountable on the attachment when the front end portion of the straw member is inserted into the open end of the catheter with the relatively large portion of the guide pipe making an abutting contact with said open end of the attachment.