Braided distal outer sheath for stent delivery system

A stent delivery system comprising:

• an outer sheath having a proximal end and a distal end;
• an inner member disposed within the outer sheath, the inner member including at least one colored visual marker;
• a self-expanding stent disposed between the inner member and the outer sheath, the stent underlying a transparent distal region of the outer sheath;
• wherein the outer sheath comprises:
• a proximal region including a proximal segment of a braided reinforcement layer with a first braid density;
• a visually transparent distal region including a distal segment of the braided reinforcement layer with a second braid density, wherein the second braid density is lower than the first braid density;
• wherein the distal segment of the braided reinforcement layer extends throughout the visually transparent distal region of the outer sheath;
• and
• wherein the at least one colored visual marker of the inner member is visible through the visually transparent distal region of the outer sheath including the distal segment of the braided reinforcement layer.

A stent delivery system comprising:

• an outer sheath having a proximal region, a distal region, and a lumen extending therebetween, the outer sheath including a braided reinforcement layer extending through both the proximal region and the distal region;
• an inner member slidably disposed within the lumen of the outer sheath;
• a self-expanding stent surrounding a distal end region of the inner member and radially constrained within the distal region of the outer sheath;
• wherein the braided reinforcement layer has a first braid density throughout the proximal region;
• wherein the braided reinforcement layer has a second braid density throughout the distal region, wherein the second braid density is lower than the first braid density;
• wherein the braided reinforcement layer has a transition region between the first braid density and the second braid density in which the transition region of the braided reinforcement layer has a braid density that continuously varies from the first braid density to the second braid density throughout the transition region;
• wherein an entirety of the distal region of the outer sheath is visually transparent or translucent and overlays an entirety of the self-expanding stent;
• wherein the proximal region of the outer sheath is opaque;
• and
• wherein the inner member includes at least one colored visual marker that is visible through the distal region of the outer sheath including the braided reinforcement layer.