Delivery system for bifurcation stents

Abstract

Systems for aligning and deploying side branch stents comprise a catheter having a side branch sensor at or near a distal end thereof. Methods comprises rotating and axially transitioning the catheter until the sensor is brought into alignment with an opening to the side branch vessel.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A stent delivery system comprising:
 a catheter shaft having a stent deployment region near a distal end thereof;   a stent having a side portion on the stent deployment region of the shaft; and   a side branch sensor on the catheter shaft, wherein the sensor comprises an imaging component positioned on the shaft to view radially outwardly through the side branch portion of the stent.   
     
     
         2 . A stent delivery system as in  claim 1 , wherein the stent deployment region comprises a balloon which carries the stent. 
     
     
         3 . A stent delivery system as in  claim 1 , wherein the catheter shaft has only one guidewire lumen extending through the balloon which carries the stent. 
     
     
         4 . A stent delivery system as in  claim 1 , wherein the width of the stent on the balloon does not exceed 1.5 mm. 
     
     
         5 . A method for deploying a prosthesis having a side branch portion in a side branch vessel in a main lumen, said method comprising:
 providing a catheter carrying the prosthesis having the side portion;   advancing the catheter in the main lumen until the side portion is proximate the side branch;   imaging a wall of the main branch vessel with an imaging component carried on a shaft of the catheter, which imaging component provides a view through the side portion of the stent;   rotating and/or axially positioning the catheter while observing the relative position of the side portion and the side branch vessel using said imaging component;   deploying the prosthesis after observing the alignment of the side branch portion and the side branch vessel.   
     
     
         6 . A method as in  claim 5 , wherein imaging component comprises an ultrasonic imaging transducer. 
     
     
         7 . A method as in  claim 6 , wherein the ultrasonic imaging transducer is aligned with the side portion of the prosthesis.