Stent delivery system

Balloon catheter for expansion of vessel stenoses and for simultaneous introduction of a deformable stent, the deformable stent being expandable from an unexpanded condition to an expanded condition, into the vessel which is to be expanded in order to stabilize it in the expanded condition, whereby the distal area of the catheter which is provided for receiving the deformable stent has an interior tube which is surrounded by the unexpanded deformable stent, a balloon is arranged between the deformable stent and the interior tube, and the interior tube has at its ends two sleeves applied to it as image sensitive markers which are composed of material opaque to X rays and are provided within the balloon on the interior tube, the catheter further comprising a intermediate tube which forms an additional plateau and which is composed of a flexible material is provided between interior tube and exterior balloon as an intermediate layer in such manner that it extends in longitudinal direction to the sleeves which form the image sensitive markers, the intermediate layer having an outer diameter, wherein the outer diameter of the intermediate layer is substantially constant between the pair of image sensitive markers.

A balloon catheter for introducing a stent, the stent being expandable, into a vessel comprising an inner tube that is surrounded and crimped onto by the stent;

• a balloon arranged between the stent and the inner tube;
• a first marking sleeve having a distal end and a proximal end and a second marking sleeve having a distal end, wherein the sleeves are longitudinally spaced from one another along the inner tube, the second marking sleeve being distal to the first marking sleeve along the inner tube, and are image sensitive, the sleeves being carried on the inner tube within the balloon, such that there is a longitudinal space on the inner tube extending between the pair of marking sleeves and such that the stent is substantially centered there-between, an intermediate layer disposed between the inner tube and the balloon, the intermediate layer having a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the proximal portion covers the inner tube and is positioned immediately distal to the distal end of the first marking sleeve and wherein the distal portion covers the inner tube and is positioned immediately proximal to the proximal end of the second marking sleeve.