Scaffold loading and delivery systems

Inventors

Merlo, Jon • Core, Lee • Prahl, Garrett • White, Travis • Goh, Bryan • Beyreis, Randy

Assignees

Lyra Therapeutics Inc

Abstract

This disclosure pertains, inter alia, to scaffold loading and delivery devices, assemblies, systems and methods of using the same.

Core Innovation

The document describes scaffold delivery for a self-expanding tubular implant with a delivery catheter and a tapered loading member. The tapered loading member includes a loading lumen and is configured with a funnel assembly and a slotted wall. A scaffold is disposed within the loading lumen around an elongate inner member, and the tapered loading member defines a tapered region configured to reduce scaffold diameter as the scaffold is advanced toward the delivery lumen.

A loading aid assembly is described that includes at least one loading pin engaged with the scaffold and configured to move longitudinally so that the scaffold also moves longitudinally toward the delivery sheath. The loading pins extend through the scaffold and into the elongate inner member, and longitudinal movement of the loading pins also moves the elongate member toward the delivery lumen. In some embodiments, the tapered loading member includes longitudinal slots that guide pin movement through the loading lumen.

The document further describes optional loading pin engagement features and component interactions, including a receptacle and pin springs biasing pins toward a receptacle axis, as well as a loading stop limiting pin travel. A pin lift can radially retract the pins to release them from the scaffold and from slots. In some embodiments, further longitudinal movement closes funnel slots and draws the scaffold into an outer sheath, and a scaffold lock retains the scaffold for proximal-to-distal controlled deployment and crimping just prior to implantation to avoid stress relaxation during shipping or storage.

Claims Coverage

The document provides coverage for two independent claims: a scaffold delivery method and a delivery assembly. Across the independent claims, the key inventive features are the tapered loading member with a loading lumen, the use of loading pins that extend through the scaffold into an elongate inner member, and the communication between the loading lumen and a delivery lumen in the delivery sheath.

Overall, the claims cover delivery using a tapered loading member with a loading lumen that communicates with a delivery sheath lumen, together with loading pins that move longitudinally to drive both the scaffold and an elongate inner member toward the delivery lumen. Dependent features further specify slot-constrained pin movement and add a loading pin engagement member, optionally ring-shaped.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications