Devices and methods for controlling expandable prostheses during deployment
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- US ยท United States
- Patent Type
- Applications(United States)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- XTENT INC
- Publication Date
- 2005-12-29
- Estimated Expiration
- Not applicable ยท inactive patent
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Abstract
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Stents are tubular prostheses designed for implantation in a vessel to maintain patency of the vessel lumen. Stents are used in various vessels throughout the body, including the coronary arteries, femoral arteries, iliac arteries, renal artery, carotid artery, vascular grafts, biliary ducts, trachea, and urethra, to name some examples. Stents are typically implanted by means of long and flexible delivery catheters that carry the stents in a compact, collapsed shape to the treatment site and then deploy the stents into the vessel. In some applications, balloon expandable stents are used. These stents are made of a malleable metal such as stainless steel or cobalt chromium and are expanded by means of a balloon on the tip of the delivery catheter to plastically deform the stent into contact with the vessel wall. In other applications, self-expanding stents are used. These are made of a resilient material that can be collapsed into a compact shape fo...