Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
308 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus for indwelling a tubular expansion unit in a lumen of a tubular body organ comprising the combination of: - a tubular-organ expansion unit (110) consisting of a cylindrical body of a given contrast made of a bidirectional shape memory alloy having a given density which is insertable into a tubular body organ and capable of maintaining an inside diameter of a lumen of the tubular body organ, said cylindrical body being capable of reversibly achieve an unexpanded state of a given radial dimension and outside diameter in a first temperature range below body temperature and an expanded state of an increased given radial dimension and outside diameter in a second temperature range around body temperature; - a catheter (120) including a base portion having an outside diameter, a distal end portion having an outside diameter, an outside portion having an outside diameter and a tubular-organ expansion unit attaching portion (123) having a periphery in the vicinity of said distal end portion for attaching said tubular-organ expansion unit (110) to said catheter; and - a catheter sheath (130) having first and second open end portions sheathing said tubular-organ expansion unit when said tubular-organ expansion unit is attached to said tubular organ-expansion unit attaching portion, said catheter sheath comprising a flexible catheter tube (131) having an inside diameter smaller than that of the outside diameter of the tubular-organ expansion unit in its expanded state but larger than the outside diameter of the tubular-organ expansion unit in its unexpanded state, said tubular-organ expansion unit being fixed to the inside of said sheath when the combination of said tubular-organ expansion unit, said catheter and said sheath is held at a temperature within said second temperature range so that said combination can be introduced as a whole in the vicinity of the indwelling location of said tubular expansion unit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
58 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said catheter further comprises: a passageway (124) extending from said base portion to at least a location in the vicinity of said distal end portion; and at least one of side pores or slit-like communication apertures (125) for providing fluid communication between said passageway (124) and said outside portion.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
60 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the outside diameter of said base portion and the outside diameter of said distal end portion is larger than the outside diameter of said tubular-organ expansion unit (110) attached to said tubular-organ expansion unit attaching portion (123) when said tubular-organ expansion unit is in an unexpanded state.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
70 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said catheter (120) further comprises: a catheter lumen extending from said base portion to at least a location in the vicinity of said distal end portion; and a hollow hub (122) having a hub lumen therein provided on said base portion for communicating with said catheter lumen; and said passageway (124) being defined by said catheter lumen and said hub lumen.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said hollow hub (122) comprises: a branch hub having two ports (122A, 122B); and a check valve (128) provided on one of said two ports.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 5, wherein said catheter is provided with at least one X-ray non-transmission marker (127) in the vicinity of said distal end portion.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
50 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 6, wherein said catheter sheath (130) includes at least one of: an X-ray non-transmission material mixed in the material of said catheter sheath (130); and at least one X-ray non-transmission marker in the vicinity of said distal end portion.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
64 words
A tubular-organ apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 7, wherein said catheter sheath (130) comprises: a sheath lumen extending between the first and second open end portions thereof; a hollow hub (132) including a hub lumen on said base portion; and a check valve (133) positioned in said hollow hub for controlling fluid communicating between said sheath lumen and said hub lumen.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
115 words
A tubular-organ apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 8, wherein both the outside diameter of said base portion of said catheter (120) and the outside diameter of said tubular-organ expansion unit attaching portion (123) in the vicinity of said distal end portion of said catheter (120) are substantially equal in diameter to each other and both said outside diameters are at least equal in size to the inside diameter of said tubular-organ expansion unit (110) when said tubular-organ expansion unit is in the unexpanded state so that said tubular-organ expansion unit attaching portion (123) is capable of having said tubular-organ expansion unit (110) attached thereto at a temperature within said first temperature range.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
45 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus as in anyone of the preceding claims wherein said tubular-organ expansion unit is selected from the group comprising a coil-like cylindrical body, a cylindrical body having a helical shape in cross-section, a cylindrical body slitted lengthwise, and a mesh-like cylindrical body.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus as in claim 10, wherein the tubular-organ expansion unit is a mesh-like cylindrical body defined by thin woven-shaped wires of shape memory alloy.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
54 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus as in anyone of claims 1 to 11, further comprising X-ray contrast enhancing means on at least a portion (10a) of said cylindrical body (10) of said tubular-organ expansion unit for improving the X-ray contrast of at least said portion of said cylindrical body relative to said given X-ray contrast.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
43 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said X-ray contrast enhancing means comprises a metal plated on at least said portion of said cylindrical body, said plated metal having a density higher than said given density of said shape memory alloy.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
A tubular-organ expansion apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said X-ray contrast enhancing means comprises a metal pressed on at least said portion of said cylindrical body, said pressed metal having a density higher than said given density of said shape memory alloy.