Noncylindrical drug eluting stent for treating vascular bifurcations
AssigneeDevax, Inc.
InventorsJacques Sequin, Robert John Elicker, Jean-Claude Laborde
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device and method for treating pathological narrowing of fluid-carrying conduits of the human body (such as blood vessels) in an area of a bifurcation is disclosed. In particular, a stent delivery system configured to carry one or more of a pair of dissimilar stents. At least one of the stents is particularly suited for treating a widened portion of a blood vessel immediately proximal to a bifurcation. The stent delivery system can also include a handpiece adapted to selectively deliver the stents.
Claims33
A method of treating a vascular bifurcation of a main vessel into a first and a second branch vessels, comprising the steps of:
- providing a delivery catheter having a stent thereon, the stent having a proximal end and a distal end and being self expandable to a configuration in which the proximal end has a smaller diameter than the distal end;
- positioning the catheter such that the stent is at a treatment site within the main vessel with the distal end adjacent the bifurcation;
- deploying the stent in the main vessel such that the distal end communicates with both the first and the second branch vessels;
- and
- eluting a drug from the stent at the treatment site.
A deployment system for treating a bifurcation of a main vessel and a first and second branch vessels, comprising:
- an elongate, flexible body, having a proximal end and a distal end;
- a first stent carried by the distal end of the body;
- a drug, releasably carried by the stent;
- a releasable restraint, for retaining the stent on the flexible body;
- wherein the distal end of the stent is larger in diameter than the proximal end of the stent in an unconstrained expanded configuration.
A method of treating a vascular bifurcation of a main vessel into first and second branch vessels, comprising the steps of:
- deploying a substantially cylindrical stent in a first branch vessel which is distal to the bifurcation;
- deploying a tapered stent in the main vessel, proximal to the bifurcation, such that the tapered stent tapers in the distal direction from a smaller proximal diameter to a larger distal diameter which faces the bifurcation;
- and
- delivering an active agent from at least one of the cylindrical and the tapered stents.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.