Patent ID: 8784466
Filing Date: 2014-07-22
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. A stent delivery system comprising: a protective sheath defining a distal end having a distal end diameter; a catheter inserted into said protective sheath for performing a back-and-forth movement therein; a balloon arranged on an outer peripheral surface towards a distal end of said catheter protruded from the distal end of said protective sheath, said balloon being expanded with a fluid supplied to said catheter; a stent formed of a biodegradable polymer to a tubular shape and mounted in a state having a contracted diameter on said balloon and being moved back and forth along with said balloon relative to said protective sheath, the contracted diameter being greater than the distal end diameter of the protective sheath; and a temporary holding member housed within the protective sheath which holds, at one end, the outer peripheral surface of the catheter and, at an opposite end, a proximal side end of the stent located opposite to the distal end of the protective sheath, operating as an end for protrusion, wherein the temporary holding member covers an outer surface of a single end of the stent such that it does not completely enclose the stent, wherein the proximal end of the stent is retained in a contracted state by the temporary holding member during initial expansion of the stent by expansion of the balloon but is released from the temporary holding member when the expansion of the stent exceeds an expansion limit of the temporary holding member, and wherein a distal side end of the stent located opposite to the proximal side end of the stent is retained only by the protective sheath such that when the stent is initially protruded from the protective sheath, the distal side end of the stent is expanded in diameter while the proximal side end is simultaneously retained in a contracted state by the temporary holding member.