Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.

Michael S Williams

Farhad Khosravi

Lilip Lau

William M Hartigan

Avegel Hernando

Ketan P Muni

Paul John Kawula

Kurt R Klemm

Ray R Beitelia

Rainier Beitelia

August R Yambao

Erik J Vander Burg

An expandable intraluminal vascular graft is implanted in a coronary artery or other vessel to maintain the patency of the lumen. The vascular graft, commonly referred to as a stent, expands from a first diameter to a second diameter, and a plurality of teeth are moved in relation to a longitudinal slot to lock the stent in an expanded condition.

Shape memory locking mechanism for intravascular stents

A stent loading mechanism for automatically loading a stent onto a balloon delivery catheter of the kind used in typical percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures. The device comprises a tubular member housing an elongated elastic bladder that surrounds the stent to be loaded. The distal end of the balloon catheter assembly and the stent are placed inside the tubular member and the bladder is inflated to compress and affix the stent onto the outside of the catheter assembly.

Stent loading mechanism

An expandable sheath is provided for delivering a therapeutic drug in a body lumen which comprises an expandable membrane with a therapeutic drug incorporated therein. The expandable membrane is in a cylindrical configuration and mounted on the balloon portion of a catheter for intraluminal drug delivery into a patient's vascular system. The expandable membrane may also be mounted on an intravascular stent, both of which are implanted within the patient's vascular system. The therapeutic drug then diffuses into the vascular system at a controlled rate to match a specific clinical need.

Drug loaded elastic membrane and method for delivery

An intravascular stent including a cylindrical sheet having overlapping edges that interlock. The edges have a series of protrusions and apertures that interlock and ratchet as the stent expands to an open position to support a section of arterial wall. The stent may be expanded by a balloon catheter or it may be self-expanding. The stent is biocompatible, may be bio-erodible, and capable of localized drug delivery. A plurality of retaining members to keep the stent open are disclosed. In one embodiment a buckle fastening member is used, while in another embodiment a helical seam containing projections is employed. The stent may be wound in such a manner that during expansion of the stent one side of the sheet desires to return to its original shape, creating a bias. In addition, a variety of reticulated structure stents are disclosed, with novel geometric patterns that aid in increased flexibility while preserving radial strength and also allow blood-tissue interaction and side branch access. The intravascular stent may be made of a sheet of material strengthened and stiffened by pyrolytic carbon or by structural reinforcement as in composite laminates.

Ratcheting stent

An expandable, balloon catheter delivered intravascular stent, especially adapted for cardiovascular applications, having a plurality of protrusions on its outer surface for engaging the artery walls in which it is disposed. The protrusions are formed from the body of the stent in a unitary, one-piece manner. Apertures are formed in the stent body from the space vacated in the body by the material forming the protrusions. When the stent is expanded by the balloon catheter, the protrusions engage both the apertures and the artery walls, to lock the stent into the expanded diameter. In this way axial displacement and radial collapse of the stent is avoided. The protrusions are arranged in a plurality of shapes, sizes and patterns. The stent may be made of a bioabsorbable material and/or a therapeutic drug delivery material.

Stent capable of attachment within a body lumen

The method for mounting an intravascular stent on the distal end of a catheter. The stent-loading device includes at least two substantially flat surfaces, that are parallel to each other, and that have relative sliding movement while remaining parallel. A stent is placed on the distal end of a catheter and positioned between the substantially flat surfaces which are then moved in an orthogonal direction relative to each other while simultaneous compressive force is applied to the stent. The stent is progressively crimped onto the catheter.

Method for mounting an intravascular stent on a catheter

The invention is directed to a stent delivery method and system which generally includes an elongated delivery sheath and a catheter disposed within an outer lumen of the sheath having an expandable member on its distal extremity. An expandable stent is mounted on the expandable member of the catheter. The distal portion of the sheath tapers down and is tucked within an elastic cone during transport of the stent to a damaged region. A manipulating device is provided on the proximal end of the delivery system to effect relative axial movement between the sheath and the catheter so as to expose the stent mounted on the expandable member on the catheter within a body lumen such as a coronary artery and allow the expansion of the stent by the expansion of the expandable member. The elastic cone thereby disengages from the sheath and collapses about the distal end of the catheter. An inner lumen extends within the catheter and slidably receives a guiding member such as a guidewire. This system allows the stent to be delivered over a guidewire previously advanced to the desired location within a body lumen.

Stent delivery system

An intravascular stent comprising a cylindrical sheet having overlapplng edges that interlock. The edges have a series of protrusions and apertures that interlock and ratchet as the stent expands to an open position to support a section of arterial wall. The stent may be expanded by a balloon catheter or it may be self-expanding. The stent is biocompatible, may be bio-erodible, and capable of localized drug delivery. A plurality of retaining members to keep the stent open are disclosed. In one embodiment a buckle fastening member is used, while in another embodiment a helical seam containing projections is employed. The stent may be wound in such a manner that during expansion of the stent one side of the sheet comprising the stent desires to return to its original shape, creating a bias. In addition, a variety of reticulated structure stents are disclosed, with novel geometric patterns that aid in increased flexibility while preserving radial strength and also allow blood-tissue interaction and side branch access. The intravascular stent may be made of a sheet of material strengthened and stiffened by pyrolytic carbon or by structural reinforcement as in composite laminates.

A stent-loading mechanism for loading a stent onto a balloon delivery catheter of the kind typically used in typical percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures. The device comprises a series of plates having substantially flat and parallel surfaces that move in a rectilinear fashion with respect to each another. A stent carrying catheter can be disposed between these surfaces to affix the stent onto the outside of the catheter by relative motion between the plates. The plates have multiple degrees of freedom and may have force-indicating transducers to measure and indicate the force applied to the catheter during affixation of the stent.

Stent-loading mechanism

A fixed-wire dilatation catheter for angioplasty procedures which has an inflated balloon on the distal end with little or no tendency to wrap on itself when the catheter is advanced through a patient's vascular system. The catheter comprises an elongated torquable shaft which is longitudinally relatively flexible but diametrically relatively rigid, a guide extension secured to the distal end of the elongated torquable shaft, and a balloon assembly which is mounted about the distal section of the torquable shaft and the guide member so that the balloon assembly is free to rotate about the torquable shaft and guide member and thereby avoid balloon wrapping. An elongated flexible member such as a helical coil is secured to the portion of the guide member which extends distally of the balloon.

Fixed-wire dilatation catheter with rotatable balloon assembly

A stent delivery catheter handle for providing relative motion between the outer sheath of a stent delivery catheter and an underlying catheter, via a thumbswitch, to enable the outer sheath to withdraw from over the underlying catheter and expose a vascular prosthesis. The handle allows the annulus between the outer sheath and the underlying catheter to be filled with a purging fluid, to prevent blood from a patient's vascular system from entering the annulus and coagulating. A flush port forms a dynamic seal in the catheter handle.

Stent delivery system with coaxial catheter handle

A catheter is formed from a single extrusion of cold crystallizable material in its amorphous state. Selected portions of the catheter are subsequently subjected to the material's cold crystallization temperatures for a selected period of time in order to transform those portions into a more crystalline form. Increased crystallinity profoundly affects the physical characteristics of the material. A jointless catheter having a relatively stiff body and a soft, pliable, and atraumatic tip is thereby provided.

Growing community of inventors

Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America

Michael S Williams