Hand-held stent crimping device
AssigneeAdvanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
InventorGregg A. Jackson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device for enabling substantially uniform and tight crimping of an intravascular stent onto a balloon catheter assembly. The stent crimping device includes at least one compressible and resiliently expandable loop portion, that is expandable radially outwardly to enable supporting of the stent and catheter assembly thereon, and compressible radially inwardly to substantially uniformly and tightly crimp the stent onto the balloon catheter assembly.
Claims11
A device for crimping a stent onto a balloon catheter or other stent delivery assembly, comprising:
- means for supporting a portion of the balloon catheter assembly on which the stent may be loaded, including a compressible portion including a plurality of loops with opposed ends which loops are substantially uniformly compressible radially inwardly upon the application of force thereto to substantially uniformly and tightly crimp the stent onto the catheter portion, and is resiliently expandable radially outwardly upon release of the applied force to support the stent and catheter portion therein;
- and
- means for enabling force to be applied to the supporting means including a pair of pivotally connected handles having jaws, wherein the opposed ends of the plurality of loops are attached to the jaws, adapted to be held in the hand of the user so as to enable the user to apply compressive force thereto to generate substantially uniform compression, radially inwardly, of the compressive portion of the supporting means, for substantially uniformly and tightly crimping the stent onto the catheter portion.
A device for crimping a stent onto the expandable portion of a catheter, comprising:
- a pair of handles pivotally connected at a common hinge to a pair of opposed jaws;
- a wire having a rectangular cross-section and having a plurality of loops and disposed between and attached to the opposed jaws;
- a spring disposed between the pair of handles for biasing the handles apart, whereby application of force to close the handles causes the opposed jaws to pivotally move apart so that the at least one wire loop becomes smaller in diameter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.