Integrated catheter for balloon angioplasty and stent delivery

摘要

A single, integrated catheter is capable of performing balloon angioplasty followed by delivery of a stent without removing the catheter from the patient's body. In one embodiment, a balloon placed near the catheter's distal end is first used for pre-dilatation of a vascular stenosis. The catheter is then advanced until a stent placed within a stent containment cavity located just proximal to the balloon is placed within the dilated stenosis. An outer sheath is then pulled back which allows a self-expanding stent to be deployed radially outward. The balloon is then pulled back inside the stent and reinflared to embed the stent into the dilated stenosis. An alternative embodiment of the invention uses a side opening in the catheter located just proximal to the stent containment cavity as an entry port for a flexible guide wire thus providing a "rapid exchange" capability for the integrated catheter.