| US 7,493,162 B2 | ||
| Pulmonary vein stent for treating atrial fibrillation | ||
| Steven D. Girouard, Woodbury, Minn. (US); Bruce H. KenKnight, Maple Grove, Minn. (US); and David S. Wood, Temecula, Calif. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., St. Paul, Minn. (US) | ||
| Filed on May 31, 2002, as Appl. No. 10/160,269. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/298741, filed on Jun. 15, 2001. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2003/0069606 A1, Apr. 10, 2003 | ||
| Int. Cl. A61N 1/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 607—5 | 12 Claims |
| 1. A method, comprising:
introducing a stent catheter having a stent mounted thereon into the left atrium of a patient;
deploying the stent into a pulmonary vein, the superior vena cava, or the inferior vena cava by inflating a balloon at the
distal end of the stent catheter to expand the stent within the vein; and,
transmitting electrical energy from an electrode mounted on a surface of the balloon to a plurality of electrodes separated
by insulation on a surface of the stent to produce a plurality of discrete and unconnected lesions in the tissue surrounding
the stent.
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