Patent ID: 8398693

Claim:
A balloon catheter for expanding a stent, comprising: a catheter shaft adapted for insertion into a body lumen of a patient, said catheter shaft defining an inflation lumen; an inflatable balloon disposed about a distal region of said catheter shaft, wherein the interior of said inflatable balloon is in fluid communication with said inflation lumen; one or more electrically actuated members disposed in a recess formed in the distal region of said catheter shaft, wherein each of said one or more electrically actuated members is a circumferential band disposed around the catheter shaft, radially positioned between said catheter shaft and said inflatable balloon such that an inner surface of the one or more electrically actuated members is attached to an outer surface of the catheter shaft and an outer surface of the one or more electrically actuated members is configured to be in contact with an inner surface of the inflatable balloon, wherein, when activated, said one or more electrically actuated members radially expand such that the outer surface of the one or more electrically actuated members contacts the inner surface of the inflatable balloon and transforms said inflatable balloon from a radially contracted state in which said balloon catheter is more readily insertable into said body lumen of said patient to a first radially expanded state, wherein said one or more electrically actuated members are electroactive polymer actuators, wherein said inflatable balloon is configured to be further expanded to a second radially expanded state with an inflation media received via the inflation lumen, wherein the second radially expanded state is larger than the first radially expanded state; a proximal marker and a distal marker, wherein the one or more electrically actuated members are positioned longitudinally between the proximal marker and the distal marker, wherein the proximal marker and the distal marker are disposed around the catheter shaft beneath the inflatable balloon; and a stent associated with the inflatable balloon, wherein transforming said inflatable balloon from the radially contracted state to the first radially expanded state with the one or more electrically actuated members expands the stent outwardly from a fully crimped state.