Appeal 2006-3287
Application 10/022,996
mounting the stent on a catheter having a long balloon and a short
balloon wherein the long balloon and short balloon are positioned side by
side;
advancing the catheter and stent through the vascular system to a
position proximal of the bifurcation;
positioning the stent at the bifurcation so that the second rings are
aligned with the opening to the side branch vessel;
inflating the long balloon and the short balloon to radially expand the
stent so that the first rings oppose and contact the main vessel proximal to
the bifurcation and the second rings oppose and contact the opening of the
side branch vessel; and
deflating the long balloon and the short balloon and withdrawing the
catheter from the vascular system.
The Examiner relies upon the following references as evidence of
obviousness:
Lam US 5,607,444 Mar. 4, 1997
Kim US 6,270,524 B1 Aug. 7, 2001
Appellants' claimed invention is directed to a method for
bifurcation of a blood vessel that includes, inter alia, mounting a stent on a
catheter having a long balloon and a short balloon that are positioned side by
side.
Appealed claims 8-14 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
being unpatentable over Lam in view of Kim.
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