Appeal No. 2000-1948 Page 5
Application No. 08/751,087
A device for delivering, positioning and releasing,
within a body lumen, a self-expandable implant
comprising: an elongate tubular sheath for maintaining
the implant in a low profile configuration, the sheath
having a leading end and a trailing end and being open at
its leading end;
a control handle having a body and a movable
portion, the movable portion being connected to a
trailing portion of the sheath, the movable portion being
movable along the body of the handle to effect forward
and rearward motion of the sheath with respect to the
body of the handle;
an implant retainer engageable with the trailing end
of the implant and being disposed to maintain the implant
in a fixed position with respect to the body of the
handle, the implant retainer being receivable within the
sheath whereby the sheath may be moved between a forward,
implant-capturing position in which the implant retention
device is contained within the sheath and a rearward,
implant-release position in which the implant retainer is
disposed forwardly beyond the end of the sheath;
the movable portion of the handle being movable
between a forward implant-capturing configuration and a
rearward implant release configuration, the implant
retainer being constructed to engage the implant to
enable the leading end of the implant to self-expand as
the sheath is moved toward the implant-release position
and;
a detent carried by the handle to prevent continuous
forward-rearward movement of the movable portion of the
handle from the implant capture position to the implant
release position.
The references to Lukic, Braunschweiler and Robinson each
disclose a device for delivering, positioning and releasing,
within a body lumen, a self-expandable implant comprising,
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