Patent ID: 7341570

Claim:
An apparatus for locally perfusing one or more kidneys, comprising: a catheter having: a central lumen; an inlet end that includes at least one hole that communicates with the central lumen; and an outlet end that includes a first branch conduit with a first outlet port that communicates with the central lumen and a second branch conduit with a second outlet port that communicates with the central lumen; a strand of elastic, high strength material; a first engagement member coupled with the first branch conduit, the first engagement member adapted to engage an interior surface of a first renal artery; and a second engagement member coupled with the second branch conduit, the second engagement member adapted to engage an interior surface of a second renal artery, wherein the apparatus can be expanded from a folded configuration where the first branch conduit and the second branch conduit are folded side-by-side, to an expanded configuration where the first branch conduit and the second branch conduit extend outwardly from a bifurcation of the first and second branch conduits, and wherein the strand of elastic, high strength material is embedded in the bifurcation of the first and second branch conduits, and is adapted to ensure that the first and second branch conduits open outwardly when the bifurcation is pulled in a proximal direction.