Patent ID: 8479742

Claim:
A medical device, comprising: an elongated catheter configured to house an implant intended for delivery into the body of a patient, said catheter comprising an opening to allow passage of the implant therethrough from the catheter into the patient; a damper body comprising an internal chamber closed at a proximal end thereof and having a distal opening in a distal end thereof, an inner diameter of the internal chamber at the distal end being less than an inner diameter of the internal chamber at the proximal end; and a piston comprising an elongated body terminating in a piston head, said elongated body of said piston slidably disposed within said distal opening of said damper body, said piston head slidably disposed within said internal chamber of said damper body; wherein said piston is operably connected to said elongated catheter such that movement of said piston head towards said proximal end of said damper body is associated with concurrent movement of said elongated catheter relative to said implant such that said implant is caused to move through said opening in said elongated catheter, and wherein said piston is biased to move from a retracted position to an extended position, said piston head moving closer to said proximal end of said damper body when said piston moves from said retracted position to said extended position.