EP0630623A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Mechanism for loading a stent on a catheter
Assignee: Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc
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Filing: 1994-05-24
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-05-24
Abstract
Abstract 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 pair of plates (120,100) having substantially flat and parallel surfaces (125,130) that move in a rectilinear fashion with respect to each other. A stent-carrying catheter can be disposed between these surfaces to affix the stent onto the outside of the catheter by providing relative motion between the plates. The plates may have multiple degrees of freedom and force-indicating transducers to measure and indicate the force applied to the catheter during affixation of the stent. Another embodiment of the stent-loading machine comprises a tubular member housing (5) an elongated elastic bladder (20) 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 pressurized fluid is applied to the bladder to compress and affix the stent onto the outside of the catheter assembly.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael S. Williams
- 👤 Lilip Lau
- 👤 Avegel Hernando
- 👤 Farhad Khosravi
- 👤 William M. Hartigan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 02:04
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61F; A61F2/00; A61F2/95; A61F2/958; A61F2/9522; B; B29; B29C; B29C63/00; B29C63/18; B29C65/00; B29C65/56; B29C66/00; B29C66/01; B29C66/05; B29C66/10; B29C66/11; B29C66/112; B29C66/1122; B29C66/12; B29C66/124; B29C66/1244; B29C66/12443; B29C66/50; B29C66/51; B29C66/53; B29C66/534; B29C66/5344; B29C66/80; B29C66/83; B29C66/832; B29C66/8322; B29C66/70; B29C66/71; B29C66/712; B29L; B29L2031/00; B29L2031/753; B29L2031/7542; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49764; Y10T29/49771; Y10T29/49776; Y10T29/49826; Y10T29/49908; Y10T29/49925; Y10T29/49927; Y10T29/53; Y10T29/53657; Y10T29/53987
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
80 words
A stent-loading device for loading a stent onto a catheter comprising: a first substantially flat surface and a second substantially flat surface, said second flat surface spaced from said first flat surface a distance sufficient to allow a catheter having a stent deployed about its periphery to be received between said first and second surfaces, wherein said flat surfaces are moved relative to one another and to apply force and to crimp said stent onto the outside of said catheter.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
18 words
The stent-loading device of claim 1, wherein said first and second substantially flat surfaces are formed from plates.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
12 words
The stent-loading device of claim 2, wherein said flat surfaces are elastomeric.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The stent-loading device of claim 2, wherein said flat surfaces are spring biased towards one another.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
37 words
The stent-loading device of claim 2, wherein said plates comprise a first stationary plate and a second moveable plate, said second moveable plate capable of moving along vertical and horizontal directions relative to said first stationary plate.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The stent-loading device of claim 5, further comprising a guide-bearing member guiding said second plate, wherein said second block has a channel received by said guide-bearing member.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The stent-loading device of claim 6, wherein said guide-bearing member has a vertically-extending groove received by a vertically-extending rail, said rail guiding said guide-bearing member along the vertical direction.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
The stent-loading device of claim 7, further comprising a vertically-extending support having a vertically-extending channel, said rail fixed to said vertically-extending support, and said vertically-extending channel receiving a vertically-extending fixed rail, said fixed rail fixed to a base, with said base fixed to said first stationary plate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The stent-loading device of claim 2, wherein said first and second surfaces are plates, and further comprising a housing supporting said plates.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
The stent-loading device of claim 9, wherein said housing is sized to fit in a human hand.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
The stent-loading device of claim 9, wherein said plates are constrained by said housing to move in substantially orthogonal directions.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
The stent-loading device of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of springs attached to one of said plates, and a push plate attached to said springs.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
The stent-loading device of claim 1, further comprising a force transducer to measure the force applied to at least one of said flat surfaces.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The stent-loading device of claim 13, further comprising means for indicating the force measured by said transducer as said stent is compressed onto said catheter.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
86 words
A stent-loading device for loading a stent onto a catheter assembly, comprising: a tubular member, having an open end to receive a stent; an elastic bladder housed inside said tubular member, partitioning said tubular member into two portions, an open portion, including said open end, defining a stent-receiving portion and a closed portion, defining a fluid chamber; whereby a stent is placed into said stent receiving portion and said fluid chamber is pressurized to cause said elastic bladder to compress said stent onto said catheter assembly.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The stent-loading device of claim 15, further comprising an inflation port, said port allowing fluid communication into said fluid chamber portion.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
The stent-loading device of claim 16, further comprising means for providing fluid under pressure to said fluid chamber portion of said tubular member, through said inflation port.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
47 words
A method of affixing an intravascular stent onto a catheter, comprising: placing an intravascular stent onto a catheter, placing the portion of said catheter containing said stent in between two substantially flat surfaces, moving said surfaces relative to one another to compress said stent onto the catheter.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of affixing an intravascular stent onto a catheter according to claim 18, wherein said flat surfaces are moved along two directions.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of affixing an intravascular stent onto a catheter according to claim 19, wherein said two substantially flat surfaces are moved along two substantially orthogonal directions.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of affixing an intravascular stent onto a catheter according to claim 18, further comprising measuring and displaying the force applied to compress said stent onto said catheter.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5183085A
Cited
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