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Abstract

A stent delivery system is sized to allow it to traverse small-sized vessels of diameter in a range from about 1.25 mm to less than about 2.5 mm in a human body. The delivery system includes a balloon which has an inflated diameter less than 2.5 mm at nominal pressure and is integrated distally on a catheter for selective inflation and deflation through a lumen of the catheter. The stent is adapted to be mounted on the uninflated balloon so that the combination of the balloon when uninflated and the stent mounted thereon has a crossing profile in a range from approximately 0.5 mm to approximately 0.8 mm, to enable the delivery system to rapidly traverse the small-sized vessel for subsequent deployment of the stent at a preselected target site of the vessel. At the target site, the balloon is inflated to expand the diameter of the stent to lodge against the wall of the vessel and remain in place when the balloon is deflated and the delivery system is withdrawn from the vessel. The stent has a coating with a surface feature that increases the retention of the stent on the balloon during advancement of the stent delivery system through the vessel.

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First Claim