Stent crimper
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A stent crimper comprising:
- a plurality of movable dies arranged to form an iris having a longitudinal axis, the iris defining an aperture, the dies disposed about the aperture, a cross-sectional shape of the iris being a regular polygon; and
a rotatable actuation device coupled to the dies, rotation of the actuation device causing the dies to move inward and reduce the size of the aperture or outward so as to increase the size of the aperture;
each die having a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side converging at a tip;
the first side having a portion that faces the aperture when the size of the aperture is increased or decreased, the second side substantially in contact with an adjacent die when the size of the aperture is increased or decreased;
wherein the dies are cooled below ambient temperature.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for manipulating a medical device is formed of at least three coupled movable blades which are disposed about a reference circle to form an aperture whose size may be varied. The aperture capable of being sized to contain a medical device. Each blade is in communication with an actuation device which is capable of moving the blade to alter the size of the aperture. Each blade includes a single radial point which a) lies on the circumference of the reference circle prior to movement of the blade, and b) may be moved only along a radius of the reference circle on movement of the blade.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A stent crimper comprising:
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a plurality of movable dies arranged to form an iris having a longitudinal axis, the iris defining an aperture, the dies disposed about the aperture, a cross-sectional shape of the iris being a regular polygon; and a rotatable actuation device coupled to the dies, rotation of the actuation device causing the dies to move inward and reduce the size of the aperture or outward so as to increase the size of the aperture; each die having a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side converging at a tip;
the first side having a portion that faces the aperture when the size of the aperture is increased or decreased, the second side substantially in contact with an adjacent die when the size of the aperture is increased or decreased;wherein the dies are cooled below ambient temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A stent crimper comprising:
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a plurality of movable dies arranged to form an iris, the dies disposed about an aperture, the aperture having a longitudinal axis and a regular polygonal shape, each of the dies having an inward facing straight side which faces the longitudinal axis of the aperture, both when the dies move to maximize the aperture and when the dies move to minimize the aperture; and a rotatable actuation device coupled to the dies, rotation of the actuation device causing the inward facing straight sides of the dies to move inward and reduce the size of the aperture or outward so as to increase the size of the aperture; wherein the dies are cooled below ambient temperature. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A stent crimper comprising:
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an aperture with a plurality of movable blades disposed thereabout, a cross-sectional shape of the aperture being a regular polygon, the blades coupled to one another so as to be movable inward or outward simultaneously, movement of the blades outward increasing the size of the aperture, movement of the blades inward decreasing the size of the aperture, the aperture retaining the regular polygon shape at multiple aperture sizes; and a cryogenic source, the cryogenic source in fluid communication with the stent crimper so as to cool the blades. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification