An apparatus for inserting a
stent into a bodily structure of a subject, the apparatus comprising: a housing; a
stent guide wire having a distal terminus; a
stent pusher having a distal terminus; a feeding mechanism for moving the distal terminus of the stent guide wire and the distal terminus of the stent pusher distally, the feeding mechanism including a rotatable
actuator engageable to move said respective termini; wherein the feeding mechanism is configured such that rotation of the
actuator in a first direction concurrently advances the distal terminus of the stent guide wire and the distal terminus of the stent pusher until the distal terminus of the stent guide wire reaches a first predetermined position at which continued rotation of the
actuator in the first direction advances only the distal terminus of the stent pusher until the distal terminus of the stent pusher reaches a second predetermined position, at which continued rotation of the actuator in the first direction is prevented and the stent is positioned at or
proximate a desired stent delivery position, and wherein the feeding mechanism is further configured such that rotation of the actuator in a second direction, opposite the first direction, retracts the distal terminus of the stent guide wire until the distal terminus of the stent guide wire is retracted into the apparatus.