Patent ID: 8133266

Claim:
An expandable tip stent-graft delivery system comprising: an expandable tip member comprising: a plurality of splines comprising long narrow non-hollow strips of material, said splines comprising: tip petals; runners; and elbows connecting said tip petals to said runners, wherein said elbows have a smooth outer edge between said tip petals and said runners, said tip petals collectively forming an expandable tip of said expandable tip member; an inner member defining a lumen therein through which said runners extend; wherein said runners are coupled to said expandable tip through said inner member; a sheath defining a lumen therein through which said inner member extends; and a stent-graft radially constrained in an annular space between said sheath and said inner member wherein said expandable tip is configured to be collapsible by retracting said runners through said inner member and configured to be expandable through advancing said runners through said inner member.