Patent ID: 8740965

Claim:
A stent delivery system comprising: an inner tube body having a guide wire lumen configured to receive a guide wire to guide movement of the stent delivery system; a stent-containing tube body surrounding a distal portion of the inner tube body so that a space exists between an outer surface of the inner tube body and an inner surface of the stent-containing tube body; a hollow longitudinally extending stent positioned in the space between the outer surface of the inner tube body and the inner surface of the stent-containing tube body so that the inner tube body passes through the stent, the stent being compressed while positioned in the space and being automatically expandable outwardly when exposed outside the stent-containing tube body, the stent possessing an inner surface, a proximal-most end and a distal-most end; an elastic member positioned in the space between the outer surface of the inner tube body and the inner surface of the stent-containing tube body, the elastic member being a wire coil comprised of a plurality of windings, at least one of the windings being a fixation section contacting the outer surface of the inner tube body to fix the elastic member to the inner tube body, at least an other of the windings being an elastic section contacting an inner surface of the stent only at a portion of the longitudinal extent of the stent so that the stent is clamped between the elastic member and the stent-containing tube body, the portion being located closer to the proximal-most end of the stent than the distal-most end of the stent, at least a part of the elastic section contacting the inner surface of the stent also being radially outwardly spaced from the outer surface of the inner tube body; and the stent-containing tube body being slidable proximally relative to the stent to expose the stent outside the stent-containing tube body and permit the stent to expand outwardly.