Scimed Life Systems, Inc.

Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.

Phlayne M Fraser

Dean A Peterson

Paul H Burmeister

Charles L Euteneuer

Susan M Shoemaker

Andrew W Buirge

A stent has a tubular body with end regions and a middle region. The tubular body has a plurality of openings in it, the number of openings greater in the middle region than in the end regions. The tubular members also comprise an inner component and an outer component, the outer component disposed about the inner component. The inner component comprises a woven braid.

Stent delivery apparatus and method

A constrained stet has a plurality of stent retaining bands disposed about the stent which maintains the stent in a reduced diameter configuration. The stent is capable of being expanded from a reduced diameter configuration to a fully expanded configuration.

A delivery system for implantation of a self-expanding stent in a vessel is consists of an elongate flexible catheter for delivering a self-expanding stent to a predetermined location in a vessel. The stent surrounds the flexible catheter near its distal end and is held in a delivery configuration where the stent has a reduced radius along its entire axial length by a stent retaining and release means. The stent retaining and release means is either one or more slipping sleeves which either contain the stent themselves or form a waterproof chamber with the stent being contained by water soluble bands or swelling bands. The stent retaining and release means can also be a pair of sleeves connected to hydraulic pistons, or a pair of sleeves connected to push/pull wires.

A delivery system for implantation of a self-expanding stent in a vessel is consists of an elongate flexible catheter for delivering a self-expanding stent to a predetermined location in a vessel. The stent surrounds the flexible catheter near its distal end and is held in a delivery configuration where the stent has a reduced radius along its entire axial length by a stent retaining and release means. The stent retaining and release means is a single layer sheath retaining sleeve means for retaining the stent in its delivery configuration attached to a slipping sleeve means for releasing the stent to self-expand. A balloon may optionally be used to seat the stent in the vessel after self-expansion. The stent may also optionally be retained by water soluble or swelling bands.

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Eagan, MN, United States of America

Phlayne M Fraser