Patent ID: 7179276

Claim:
A vascular occlusion coil deployment system for use in placing a coil at a preselected site within a vessel comprising: an elongated flexible positioning member having a lumen extending therethrough and having proximal and distal ends; an embolic coil; an elongated flexible delivery member having a lumen extending therethrough and being positioned within the lumen of the positioning member and having proximal and distal ends; a heating element mounted on the distal end of the delivery member, said heating element being an electrically heated coil; a non-optical energy transmission conductor extending along the lumen of the delivery member and extending from the proximal end to the distal end of the delivery member, said energy transmission conductor being coupled to said heating element; and a unitary non-metallic heat responsive coupling member coupled directly to the heating element coil and normally retaining the embolic coil by an adhesive bond, said heat responsive coupling member comprises a biocompatible adhesive that exhibits the characteristic of, upon being heated, releasing the adhesive bond and the embolic coil at the preselected site, and wherein the yield strength of the biocompatible adhesive is reduced when heated by the heating element.