Patent ID: 7048719

Claim:
A method of resheathing an elongate apparatus such as a catheter, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an assembly, which comprises an elongate, flexible member; a flexible sheath having a portion that is positioned on the elongate member and a portion that has been removed from the elongate member, the sheath having a length and a slit extending the majority of the length of the sheath; and a resheathing apparatus that comprises a guide having a proximal end, a distal end, a first portion having a lumen through which the elongate, flexible member is advanceable and a second portion that diverges away from the lumen, said second portion being structured to cause the portion of the sheath that has been removed from the elongate member to become redisposed around the elongate member as the elongate member is advanced in a first direction through the lumen of the guide's first portion; and, (b) moving either the elongate flexible member or the guide such that the elongate member advances in the first direction through the lumen of the guide and the second portion of the guide causes the portion of the sheath that had been removed from the elongate member to become redisposed around the elongate member; wherein the resheathing apparatus further comprises a guide tube disposed around the second portion of the guide, and the flexible sheath is urged through the guide tube before the sheath is positioned on the elongate flexible member.