Patent ID: 7708754

Claim:
A deployment system for delivering an embolic device to a target location of a body vessel, comprising: an elongated flexible deployment catheter having a lumen extending therethrough and having proximal and distal ends; an elongated pusher member having a lumen extending therethrough and having proximal and distal ends and being slidably disposed within the lumen of the deployment catheter; an embolic device having a retaining ring at a proximal end thereof; an engagement member extending from the distal end of the pusher member and having an aperture extending through a distal end thereof, a portion of said engagement member extending through said retaining ring; a kicker member extending from the distal end of the pusher member, the kicker member being deflected in a direction toward a central axis of the lumen of the pusher member for engagement with said retaining ring of said embolic device, wherein said kicker member is comprised of a shape memory material in a martensitic state at room temperature and automatically movable to a configuration substantially parallel to the central axis of the lumen of the pusher member at a transformation temperature greater than room temperature to lift said retaining ring of said embolic device off of said engagement member; and an elongated detachment member extending from a position proximal to the proximal end of the pusher member, through the lumen of the pusher member and through the aperture of the engagement member such that when the detachment member is pulled proximally a distal end of the detachment member is withdrawn from the aperture of the engagement member and said kicker member lifts said retaining ring of said embolic device off of said engagement member to thereby release the embolic device from said pusher member.