Apparatus and methods for deployment of multiple custom-length prostheses (ii)

Abstract

Apparatus for delivering stents to body lumens include one or more tubular prostheses carried at the distal end of a catheter shaft, a sheath slidably disposed over the prostheses, and a guidewire tube extending from within the sheath to the exterior of the sheath through an exit port in a sidewall thereof A guidewire extends slidably through the guidewire tube. The sheath can be moved relative to the catheter shaft and the guidewire tube to expose the prostheses for deployment. Methods of delivering stents are also provided.

1 . Apparatus for delivering a prosthesis into a target vessel of a patient, comprising:
 a flexible catheter having proximal and distal ends, said catheter comprising an outer sheath and an inner shaft;   a plurality of tubular prostheses releasably carried near the distal end of the catheter such that the tubular prostheses are slidably positioned upon the inner shaft and deployable therefrom, the outer sheath disposed over the prostheses and being axially movable relative thereto such that a selectable number of tubular prostheses are separated and exposed for deployment; and   a pusher which is translatable along the inner shaft such that distal movement of the pusher slides the plurality of tubular prostheses therealong,   wherein at least a portion of the tubular prostheses have a radiopaque marker disposed thereon such that the number of prostheses deployed from the catheter at one time may be visualized.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein the radiopaque marker is disposed only on a portion of each prosthesis. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein the radiopaque marker comprises a circumferential stripe on at least one end of each prosthesis. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein each prosthesis has a plurality of axial projections extending from at least one end thereof, the axial projections being configured to interleave with axial projections on an adjacent prosthesis, and the radiopaque marker is disposed on the axial projections. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein the radiopaque marker comprises a circumferential stripe in a middle region of each prosthesis. 
   
   
       6 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein the radiopaque marker covers only a portion of the prosthesis. 
   
   
       7 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein the radiopaque marker comprises a coating on the surface of the prostheses. 
   
   
       8 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein the radiopaque marker comprises a radiopaque component coupled to the prosthesis. 
   
   
       9 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein the radiopaque marker is a material selected from gold, silver, platinum, titanium, iridium, and tungsten. 
   
   
       10 . The apparatus as in  claim 1  wherein the radiopaque marker is configured so as to indicate the location of each prosthesis in a line of prostheses deployed end-to-end in a vessel. 
   
   
       11 . A method of determining the number of prostheses deployed in a vessel comprising:
 sliding a plurality of prostheses upon an inner shaft of a catheter by urging a pusher distally along the inner shaft;   exposing a selected number of prostheses for deployment into the vessel while at least one other of the plurality of prostheses remains unexposed;   deploying from the catheter the selected number of prostheses end-to-end in the vessel while the at least one other of the plurality of prostheses remains undeployed on the catheter; and   visualizing radiopaque markers on at least a portion of the deployed prostheses, the radiopaque markers indicating the location of each deployed prosthesis relative to other deployed prostheses.   
   
   
       12 . The method as in  claim 11  wherein the prostheses have axial projections on each end thereof, the axial projections on each prosthesis interleaving with the axial projections on the adjacent prosthesis. 
   
   
       13 . The method as in  claim 12  wherein the radiopaque marker is disposed on the axial projections. 
   
   
       14 . The method as in  claim 11  further comprising retaining at least one prosthesis in the catheter while the plurality of prostheses are deployed in the vessel. 
   
   
       15 . The method as in  claim 11  further comprising selecting the number of prostheses to deploy in the vessel from a total number of prostheses carried by the catheter.