Delivery systems for delivering and deploying stent grafts

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9333104-B2
Application number	US-201313900257-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 22, 2013
Priority date	Sep 3, 2003
Publication date	May 10, 2016
Grant date	May 10, 2016

Abstract

A delivery system for delivering and deploying a stent graft includes a guidewire catheter, an apex release catheter, an apex capture device, a relatively rigid, hollow catheter, and a distal nose. The apex capture device includes a distal capture portion fixedly connected to the distal end of the guidewire catheter and having a distal portion and a proximal stopper having an exposed side facing distally in a plane approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the guidewire catheter. The apex capture device also includes a proximal capture portion fixedly connected to the distal end of the apex release catheter and has fingers extending toward the distal capture portion in a distal direction that define an interior cavity to receive the proximal stopper. The proximal and distal capture portions of the apex capture device define a stent capture state.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A delivery system for delivering and deploying a stent graft, comprising:
a) a guidewire catheter having a distal end and an interior extending along a longitudinal axis;
b) an apex release catheter having a distal end and being slidably disposed about the guidewire catheter;
c) an apex capture device including
i) a distal capture portion fixedly connected to the distal end of the guidewire catheter, the distal capture portion having
a distal portion with a proximal end, and
a proximal stopper having an exposed side facing distally that is disposed in a place approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and defining stopping surface portions, and a proximal side extending along a line that intersects with the guidewire catheter proximal to the exposed side of the proximal stopper, and

ii) a proximal capture portion fixedly connected to the distal end of the apex release catheter, and having fingers extending toward the distal capture portion in a distal direction, the fingers defining an interior cavity shaped to receive the proximal stopper therein, wherein
the proximal and distal capture portions are formed to hold proximal apices joining struts of a stent therebetween and, together, define a stent captured state in which the proximal stopper and proximal apices of the stent are received in the interior cavity to thereby constrain the proximal apices while the struts emanate radially from between the fingers of the proximal capture portion, and the distal capture portion approximately closes off the interior cavity along the longitudinal axis;

d) an outer catheter having a distal end and slidably disposed about the apex release catheter; and
e) a distal nose having a proximal end connected to at least one of the distal capture portion and the distal end of the guidewire catheter.

2. The delivery system of claim 1 , further including
a) a sheath catheter having a distal end and being slidably disposed about the apex release catheter and slidably disposed within the outer catheter;
b) an inner sheath that is flexible relative to the outer catheter and disposed about the apex release catheter, the inner sheath having a major longitudinal axis, a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end being connected to the distal end of the sheath catheter and the distal end having an inner diameter greater than the proximal end.

3. The delivery system of claim 2 , wherein the distal nose and the distal capture portion together define a cavity in which the distal end of the inner sheath is releasably held.

4. The delivery system of claim 2 , further including a locking mechanism that selectively locks the guidewire catheter to the sheath catheter when the locking mechanism is in one position and the guidewire catheter to the outer catheter when the locking mechanism is in another position, whereby one of the sheath catheter and the outer catheter are retractable relative to the other catheter while the other catheter and the guidewire catheter remain essentially stationary relative to each other.

5. The delivery system of claim 2 , further including an alignment device connected to the inner sheath.

6. The delivery system of claim 5 , wherein the alignment device is asymmetric relative to an axis parallel to the major longitudinal axis of the inner sheath.

7. The delivery system of claim 5 , wherein the alignment device is radiopaque.

8. The delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the distal nose has at least one radiopaque portion.

9. The delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the guidewire catheter includes a metal and the apex release catheter includes a polymer.

10. The delivery system of claim 1 , further including an intermediate portion connecting the distal portion of the distal capture portion to the proximal stopper at a proximal distance from the proximal end of the distal portion of the distal capture portion.

11. The delivery system according to claim 1 , wherein:
said proximal end of said distal portion and said proximal stopper define a stent apex cavity; and
said proximal and distal capture portions are formed to hold the proximal apices in said stent apex cavity.

12. The delivery system according to claim 1 , wherein the proximal stopper having a greatest outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the outer catheter to fit the proximal stopper slidably within the outer catheter.

13. The delivery system according to claim 12 , wherein the distal portion of the distal capture portion has a greatest outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the outer catheter to fit the distal portion slidably within the outer catheter.

14. The delivery system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the proximal end of the distal portion and the proximal stopper define a stent apex cavity;
the proximal and the distal capture portions are formed to hold the proximal apices in the stent apex cavity; and
relative movement of the guidewire catheter and the apex release catheter moves the proximal and distal capture portions with respect to one another to substantially close the stent apex cavity and, thereby, place the proximal and distal capture portions in the captured state.

15. The delivery system according to claim 1 , further including a stent having proximal apices, the stent extending about the apex release lumen, and wherein
the stent has a given number of the proximal apices; and
the number of said fingers is equal to the number of the proximal apices.

16. The delivery system according to claim 15 , wherein a number of the stopping surface portions is equal to a number of the fingers.

17. The delivery system according to claim 16 , wherein:
the proximal stopper has extensions extending in a radial direction away from the longitudinal axis;
a number of the extensions is equal to the number of the stopping surface portions; and
each of the extensions includes one of the stopping surface portions.

18. The delivery system according to claim 17 , wherein the extensions are distributed spokes about a circumference of the proximal stopper.

19. The delivery system according to claim 18 , wherein each of the spokes has a distal surface corresponding to one of the stopping surface portions for preventing movement of a captured proximal apex past the distal surface in a proximal direction.

20. The delivery system according to claim 1 , wherein:
a corresponding pair of one of the fingers and one of the stopping surface portions is formed to pass through one of the proximal apices; and
the one stopping surface portion limits proximal movement of the one stent proximal apex when in the captured state.

21. The delivery system according to claim 1 , wherein, in the captured state:
the fingers are formed to radially restrain the proximal apices in the interior cavity; and
the stopping surface portions are formed to axially restrain the proximal apices in the interior cavity.

22. The delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the distal nose has at least one radiopaque portion.

Assignees

• Bolton Medical Inc

Inventors

• Ouellette Gerry
• Arbefeuille Samuel
• Berra Humberto
• Barbre Carol

Classifications

• A61F2002/9528

  for retrieval of stents · CPC title

• A61F2/95

  Instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts · CPC title

• A61F2220/0008

  Fixation appliances for connecting prostheses to the body · CPC title

• A61F2/9522

  Means for mounting a stent or stent-graft onto or into a placement instrument · CPC title

• A61F2230/0054

  V-shaped · CPC title