Method and apparatus for delivery, deployment and retrieval of a stent comprising shape-memory material

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A delivery, deployment and retrieval device for a stent made from a phase-change material includes a balloon catheter modified to allow the stent to be secured on the outside of the balloon without the need for a sheath. A temperature-controlled fluid to effect a phase change to expand the stent is injected through an inflation lumen to maintain the selected temperature and to inflate the balloon. The balloon maintains intimate physical and thermal contact with the stent during deployment. One or more exit apertures are provided for the fluid to escape from the inflation lumen and enhance the phase change by bathing the stent with the fluid.