Patent ID: 8359721
Filing Date: 2013-01-29
Classification: A61F,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A system for loading a self-expanding stent into an introducer having an outer tube defining a lumen, the system comprising: a compressor having a stent delivery end, a stent receiving end, and a passage about a longitudinal axis connecting the stent delivery end and the stent receiving end, the passage comprising a funnel portion proximate the stent receiving end and an introducer opening proximate the stent delivery end, the funnel portion at the stent receiving end being sized to receive an un-compressed stent, the introducer opening shaped and sized to receive the outer tube of said introducer; and a split sleeve device comprising at least one flexible sleeve having a first end and a second end, and a mounting device situated adjacent the stent delivery end of the compressor defining a hole about the longitudinal axis sized to surround the outer tube of the introducer, the first end of the split sleeve device being coupled to the mounting device, the second end of the split sleeve device extending through the compressor passage at least to the stent receiving end and being flared outward to surround the un-compressed stent; the mounting device with the first end of the split sleeve device being movable away from the compressor, the second end of the split sleeve device and the surrounded stent being drawn through the funnel portion to collapse the stent to a compressed configuration, the compressed stent being urged into the lumen of said introducer by the movement of the split sleeve device relative to the compressor and introducer.