Patent ID: 8016857

Claim:
An apparatus for percutaneously effecting hemostasis at a vascular puncture comprising: a shaft having proximal and distal ends, the shaft including an outer tube having a distal end with a plurality of resiliently hinged fingers adapted to be urged from a tubular configuration to a splayed configuration; a flexible folded biocompatible puncture patch disposed in the distal end of the outer tube; the fingers having guide slots and the patch having guidable projections slidably received in the guide slots to enable the fingers to unfold the patch while the fingers are urged radially outward to a splayed configuration, the guide slots enabling concurrent distal movement of the patch and its guidable projections relative to the fingers to enable the patch to be ejected from the distal end of the device in an unfolded configuration; an actuator movable distally within the outer tube to engage the patch within the outer tube to advance the patch distally; and each of the fingers having an inwardly projecting tab engageable by the actuator to urge the fingers progressively radially outwardly in response to progressive distal advancement of the actuator; whereby advancement of the actuator causes unfolding of the patch and ejection of the patch from the distal end of the device.