Microvention, Inc.

Terumo Corporation

Helen Nguyen

Tai D Tieu

Ponaka Pung

Gregory M Cruise

Shirley Vong

Hideo Morita

Minh Nguyen

Ross Soltanian

Heather Griffith

Oanh Nguyen

Britney Ngo

Heather Griffin

Steven Plotkin

Wataru Karino

Steven Trom

An implant delivery system may have a pusher. The pusher may have an elongated shape. A distal end of the pusher may be configured to connect to an implant. The implant delivery system may have a tether connected to the pusher and to the implant. The implant delivery system may have a heating element mounted over the tether biased to contract a first surface of the heating element towards a second surface of the pusher. The implant delivery system may have an expander disposed between the first surface of the heating element and the second surface of the pusher. The expander may be configured to melt, allowing the first surface to contact the second surface, upon activation of the heating element.

Implant delivery system

Disclosed is a method, apparatus, and kit for assisting the expansion of a self-expanding stent, especially within highly curved or tortuous blood vessels. An elongated pusher having an expandable distal mesh portion can be positioned within a self-expanding stent, expanding during delivery to provide extra expansion force to the stent to ensure the stent properly expands.

Method and apparatus for stent delivery

Implant engagement mechanisms are disclosed for maintaining engagement with a stent until it has been fully deployed and expanded from a catheter or sheath. The apparatus, method and system involving these engagement mechanisms allow a physician to withdraw or retract a sheath prior to full deployment, thereby allowing for redeployment of the stent at a more desirable position.

Releasable delivery system

A system and method of delivering and detaching an implant within a body of a patient is described. A tether connects an implant with a delivery device. The delivery device includes a heater coil through which the tether passes. The inner diameter of the heater coil is about the same size or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tether, allowing the tether to more efficiently break the tether during delivery.

A stent with varying porosity is described. The stent can be comprised of multiple stents attached together. A braided stent may have selected regions of increased thickness. The stent may be comprised of wires that are welded together at their ends in order to minimize vessel trauma. The stent may comprise a helically wound radiopaque wire wound through the stent.

Stent

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a stent is described having a generally cylindrical body formed from a single woven nitinol wire. The distal and proximal ends of the stent include a plurality of loops, some of which include marker members used for visualizing the position of the stent. In another embodiment, the previously described stent includes an inner flow diverting layer.

Methods for delivering and using a stent

In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a mechanically releasable delivery system. More specifically, this embodiment includes an implantable device secured by tether at a distal end of the delivery system. The tether is fixed to the implantable device and looped around a selectively slidable mandrel. When the mandrel is retracted to expose its distal end, the looped tether slides off the mandrel, freeing the implantable device. Alternately, the tether can be fixed to the delivery system, wrapped around a portion of the implantable device and looped on to the slidable mandrel. Preferably, movement of the mandrel is controlled by an actuation control on the handle of the delivery system, allowing the user to selectively release the implantable device during a medical procedure.

Growing community of inventors

Carson, CA, United States of America

Helen Nguyen