Patent ID: 7636998

Claim:
An apparatus for compressing a stent having at least one protrusion, comprising: a mandrel insertable into a lumen of the stent for holding the stent; a protrusion compressor coupled to said mandrel proximate a proximal end thereof, said mandrel extending axially into said protrusion compressor and being rotatable relative thereto; a knob disposed on said mandrel proximate a proximal end thereof for retaining said protrusion compressor on said mandrel, said mandrel having a stent fixation zone with an outer diameter greater than an interior diameter of at least a portion of the lumen of the stent prior to installation of the stent on the mandrel and frictionally engaging the stent when the stent is placed on the mandrel over said stent retention zone to hold the stent on said mandrel, said protrusion compressor being captured between said knob and said stent retention zone, said protrusion compressor having a hub with a grip portion and a collar, said hub having a sidewall bounding an axial hollow into which said mandrel extends, said collar coaxially received on said hub and having a tab extending at a distal end thereof, said tab having an inwardly directed surface facing a central axis of said collar, said collar moveable telescopically on said hub between a retracted position and a deployed position, said hub having a relief slot on an exterior surface of said sidewall external to said hollow, said relief slot having an outwardly directed surface facing away from a central axis of said hub, said relief slot formed in said sidewall proximate a distal end thereof, said relief slot positioned on said hub to align with said tab, such that said inwardly directed surface of said tab and said outwardly directed surface of said relief slot face each other with a spacing there between for accommodating a portion of the stent when said collar is in the deployed position, said tab capturing the stent proximate a proximal end thereof between said inwardly directed surface of said tab and said outwardly directed surface of said relief slot, said apparatus compressing the at least one protrusion when said mandrel is rotated relative to said protrusion compressor while the stent is captured between said tab and said relief slot.