Clip sheath for a polymer scaffold

Abstract

A sheath is placed over a crimped scaffold to reduce recoil of the crimped polymer scaffold and maintain scaffold-balloon engagement relied on to hold the scaffold to the balloon when the scaffold is being delivered to a target in a body. The sheath has an opening spanning the length of the sheath. The opening spans an arc length of about 90 degrees with respect to the circumference of the scaffold or balloon. The sheath may be removed from the scaffold by pinching the sheath between a thumb and forefinger, or bending or peeling back the sheath from the edges of the opening using fingertips.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising: a catheter including a scaffold comprising a polymer, the scaffold being crimped to a balloon; a constraining sheath disposed over the scaffold, the constraining sheath comprising two edges defining an opening, the edges being circumferentially spaced from each other by between 5 Degrees and 150 Degrees; and the constraining sheath further comprising a concave outer surface located on each of opposite sides of the opening, wherein each concave outer surface is between two convex outer surfaces, one of the two convex outer surfaces comprising one of the two edges; and a protecting sheath comprising first and second halves disposed over the scaffold and inside the constraining sheath; wherein the catheter is capable of being introduced into a body only after the protecting and constraining sheaths are removed from the scaffold.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the two edges extend over an entire length of the constraining sheath.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the edges are spaced by between 50 Degrees and 150 Degrees.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein edges of the halves are not within the opening.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the protecting sheath is about 50% of a thickness of the constraining sheath.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the constraining sheath is configured for being removed from the scaffold by pinching the constraining sheath, or by peeling the two edges of the constraining sheath away from each other as the constraining sheath is lifted off the scaffold.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the constraining sheath is not configured for being moved longitudinally relative to the scaffold when the constraining sheath is being removed from the scaffold.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first half is fully covered by the constraining sheath and the second half is only partially covered by the constraining sheath.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the protecting sheath comprises a single sheath having a slit or opening extending along two sides.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the concave outer surfaces are formed by a pair of longitudinally extending ridges.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the opening is between one of the pair of ridges forming one of the concave outer surfaces and one of the pair of ridges forming the other of the concave outer surfaces.

12. An apparatus, comprising: a catheter including a scaffold crimped to a balloon; a sheath disposed over the scaffold and configured for being pinched or peeled away when removed from the scaffold, the sheath comprising: two edges defining an opening, the edges being circumferentially spaced from each other by between 5 Degrees and 150 Degrees; and a notch on a surface of the sheath and separating the sheath into first and second portions, each portion extending from the notch to one of the edges, wherein the notch facilitates a folding, kinking or buckling of the sheath at the notch when the sheath is pinched or peeled away; wherein the scaffold occupies a space between the notch and the opening; and wherein the catheter is capable of being introduced into a body only after the sheath is removed from the scaffold.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein an outer surface of the sheath comprises two ridges.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the notch extends over a length of the sheath.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the notch is formed on an inner or outer surface of the sheath.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the sheath is a constraining sheath, further comprising a protecting sheath disposed between the constraining sheath and the scaffold.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the sheath further comprises two pair of ridges located on opposite sides of the notch.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein each pair of ridges forms a concave surface.

19. A tube comprising the apparatus of claim 1 contained within a lumen of the tube.

20. An apparatus, comprising: a catheter including a scaffold crimped to a balloon; a sheath disposed over the scaffold, the sheath comprising two edges defining an opening, two pair of two ridges extending in a longitudinal direction, wherein a concave surface extends from a first ridge to a second ridge of each of the pair of ridges, and each of the pair of ridges is located between two convex surfaces, and a notch on a surface of the sheath and disposed between the concave surfaces.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a balloon catheter assembly, including a first embodiment of a constraining sheath and a protecting sheath disposed over a scaffold crimped to a balloon.

(2) FIG. 1A is front view of the protecting and constraining sheaths, crimped scaffold and balloon of FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 1B is an exploded assembly view of the protecting and constraining sheaths and balloon catheter of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 1C is a perspective view of the balloon catheter of FIG. 1 with protecting and constraining sheaths.

(5) FIG. 2 is a second embodiment of a protecting sheath.

(6) FIGS. 3 and 3A are drawings showing a method of removal of a constraining sheath from a protecting sheath, the protecting sheath covering a scaffold crimped to a balloon. FIG. 3A is a front view of the removal of the constraining sheath in FIG. 3, taken at section IIIA-IIIA.

(7) FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are front, perspective and partial perspective views of the balloon catheter with the protecting sheath of FIG. 1, and a second embodiment of a constraining sheath.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(8) For purposes of this disclosure, the following terms and definitions apply:

(9) The term about means 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1.5%, 1%, between 1-2%, 1-3%, 1-5%, or 0.5%-5% less or more than, less than, or more than a stated value, a range or each endpoint of a stated range, or a one-sigma, two-sigma, three-sigma variation from a stated mean or expected value (Gaussian distribution). It is understood that any numerical value, range, or either range endpoint (including, e.g., about none, about all, etc.) preceded by the word about in this disclosure also describes or discloses the same numerical value, range, or either range endpoint not preceded by the word about.

(10) The term rigid is a relative term used to describe something that is substantially stiffer than some other thing. For example, a first sheath or tube that is radially rigid, rigid in the radial direction, or simply rigid as compared to a second sheath or tube means that the first sheath/tube is incompressible compared to the second sheath, or essentially does not deform when an external, radially compressive force or pinching force is applied as compared to the second sheath, for the same applied load.

(11) Inflated diameter or expanded diameter refers to the diameter the scaffold attains when its supporting balloon is inflated to expand the scaffold from its crimped configuration to implant the scaffold within a vessel. The inflated diameter may refer to a post-dilation balloon diameter which is beyond the nominal balloon diameter, e.g., a 6.5 mm balloon has about a 7.4 mm post-dilation diameter, or a 6.0 mm balloon has about a 6.5 mm post-dilation diameter. The nominal to post dilation ratios for a balloon may range from 1.05 to 1.15 (i.e., a post-dilation diameter may be 5% to 15% greater than a nominal inflated balloon diameter). The scaffold diameter, after attaining an inflated diameter by balloon pressure, will to some degree decrease in diameter due to recoil effects related primarily to, any or all of, the manner in which the scaffold was fabricated and processed, the scaffold material and the scaffold design.

(12) Post-dilation diameter (PDD) of a scaffold refers to the diameter of the scaffold after being increased to its expanded diameter and the balloon removed from the patient's vasculature. The PDD accounts for the effects of recoil. For example, an acute PDD refers to the scaffold diameter that accounts for acute recoil in the scaffold.

(13) A pre-crimp diameter means an OD of a tube, or the scaffold before it is crimped to a balloon. Similarly, a final crimped diameter means the OD of the scaffold when crimped to a balloon and removed from a crimping mechanism just prior to sheath placement. The pre-crimp diameter can be 2, 2.5, 3.0 times greater than the crimped diameter and about 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.3 and about 1-1.5 times higher than an expanded diameter or post-dilation diameter. A partial crimp diameter is a diameter attained after a scaffold or segment is crimped to a diameter less than a pre-crimp diameter and greater than the final crimp diameter. A partial crimp diameter can be an intermediate diameter after crimping from a pre-crimp diameter to about the nominal or over inflated diameter of the balloon to which the scaffold will be crimped. An example of a partial crimping diameter is described by the scaffold diameter following Stage II in FIGS. 3A and 4A, and described in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/644,347. A crimping mechanism or crimper may correspond to a linkage/mechanism including cooperating blades or teeth configured to apply an approximately uniform radial pressure on a scaffold to reduce its diameter to a final crimp diameter. The ratio of pre-crimp or intermediate crimp diameter to final crimped diameter may be greater than a ratio of expanded or post-dilation diameter (PDD) to the final crimped diameter of the scaffold. The crimping performed by the crimping mechanism may include a polymer material disposed between the teeth and surface of a scaffold; as example of such arrangement being found in US 2012/0042501.

(14) Recoil means the response of a material following the plastic/inelastic deformation of the material and in the absence of externally applied forces, e.g., vessel contraction. When the scaffold is radially deformed well beyond its elastic range and the external pressure (e.g., a balloon pressure on the luminal surface) is removed the scaffold diameter will tend to revert back to its earlier state before the external pressure was applied. Thus, when a scaffold is radially expanded by applied balloon pressure and the balloon removed, the scaffold will tend to return towards the smaller diameter it had, i.e., crimped diameter, before balloon pressure was applied. A scaffold that has recoil of 10% within hour following implantation and an expanded diameter of 6 mm has an acute post-dilation diameter of 5.4 mm. The recoil effect for balloon-expanded scaffolds can occur over a long period of time. Post-implant inspection of scaffolds shows that recoil can increase over a period of about one week following implantation. Unless stated otherwise, when reference is made to recoil it is meant to mean recoil along a radial direction (as opposed to axial or along longitudinal direction) of the scaffold.

(15) Acute Recoil is defined as the percentage decrease in scaffold diameter within the first about hour following implantation within a vessel.

(16) Axial and longitudinal are used interchangeably and refer to a direction, orientation, or line that is parallel or substantially parallel to the central axis of a stent or the central axis of a tubular construct. The term circumferential refers to the direction along a circumference of the stent or tubular construct. Thus, a link spaced 180 degrees from another link means 180 degrees as measured about the circumference of the tubular construct.

(17) Radial refers to a direction, orientation, or line that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the central axis of the stent or the central axis of a tubular construct and is sometimes used to describe a circumferential property, i.e. radial strength.

(18) A stent is a permanent structure, usually comprised of a metal or metal alloy, generally speaking, while a scaffold will refer to a structure comprising a bioresorbable polymer and capable of radially supporting a vessel for a limited period of time, e.g., 3, 6 or 12 months following implantation. It is understood, however, that the art sometimes uses the term stent when referring to either type of structure. Some material used to make a stent and/or scaffold structure is listed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,099,849.

(19) Radial strength and radial stiffness adopts the definitions found in Ser. No. 13/842,547 filed Mar. 15, 2013.

(20) A polymer scaffold according to a preferred embodiment is formed from a radially expanded or biaxially expanded extruded tube comprising PLLA. The degree of radial expansion (RE) and axial expansion (AE) that the polymer tube undergoes can characterize the degree of induced circumferential molecular and crystal orientation as well as strength in a circumferential direction. In some embodiments the RE is about 400% and the AE is 40-50%. Other embodiments of processing parameters, RE and AE expansions considered within the scope of the disclosure are found in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/840,257 filed Mar. 15, 2013.

(21) The scaffold is laser cut from the expanded tube. The diameter of the tube is preferably selected to be about the same, or larger than the expanded diameter or PDD for the scaffold to provided desirable radial strength characteristics, as explained earlier. The scaffold is then crimped onto the balloon of the balloon catheter. Preferably, an iris-type crimping mechanism is used to crimp the scaffold to the balloon.

(22) The pre-crimp memory in the scaffold material following crimping will induce some recoil when the scaffold is removed from the crimper. While a dwell period within the crimper can reduce this recoil tendency, there is residual recoil to restrain while the scaffold awaits use. This is done by placing a restraining sheath over the scaffold after the crimper blades are released and the scaffold removed from the crimper head. This need to reduce recoil is particularly evident when the diameter reduction during crimping is high, e.g., as in above examples, since for a larger starting diameter compared to the crimped diameter the crimped material can have higher recoil tendencies. Examples of polymers that may be used to construct sheaths described herein are Pebax, PTFE, polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyimide and nylon. Examples of restraining sheaths for polymer scaffold and methods for attaching and removing restraining sheaths for polymer scaffold are described in US20120109281, US20120324696 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,414,528, and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/708,638.

(23) FIGS. 1 and 1A show a side cross-sectional and front view, respectively, of a distal end of a scaffold-balloon catheter assembly 2. The catheter assembly 2 includes a catheter shaft 4 and a scaffold 10 crimped to a delivery balloon 12. As shown there are two separate sheaths 20, 30 disposed over the scaffold 10. The scaffold 10 is contained within a protecting sheath 20 and a constraining sheath 30, which is placed over the outer surface of the protecting sheath 20 to position it over the scaffold 10. Before inserting the catheter assembly 2 distal end within a patient, both the constraining sheath 30 and protecting sheath 20 are removed by a health professional. The protecting sheath has a distal end 20b and a proximal end 20a. The constraining sheath has a distal end 30b and a proximal end 30a.

(24) The sheaths 20, 30 provide an effective radial constraint for reducing recoil in the crimped scaffold 10. Yet the sheaths 20, 30 are also easily removed by a health professional at the time of a medical procedure by removing the outer sheath 30 from the inner sheath 20. As described herein, a sheath that applies a radial constraint can be difficult to manually remove without adversely affecting the structural integrity of the medical device. In these cases, it is desirable to arrange the sheaths so that special handling is not required by the health professional when the sheath is manually removed. By making the sheath removal process easy to follow or intuitive, the possibility that a health professional will damage the medical device by improperly removing the sheath is reduced.

(25) The constraint imposed by the sheaths 20, 30 may be such as to maintain the scaffold 10 at essentially the same, or close to the same diameter it had when removed from the crimping mechanism. In some embodiments a first sheath, e.g., a polymer tube with weakened line and/or V-notch and configured for being torn when removed from the scaffold, is applied immediately after crimping and may apply a higher crimping force than the sheaths 30 and 20. Preferred embodiments of such a sheath and process for applying the sheath to a crimped scaffold are described in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/708,638. This first sheath is removed shortly after crimping, e.g., within to one hour after crimping. Then sheaths 30 and 20 are applied. The sheath 30 is tightly fit over the sheath 20 and scaffold 10 so that the radial inward force applied on the scaffold 10 can prevent or reduce recoil in the scaffold 10 while the finished product is packaged and awaiting use. The health professional then removes both sheaths at the time of the medical procedure. As such, any potential recoil in the scaffold 10 prior to using the medical device is minimized. The sheath 30, although imposing a tight fit on the scaffold 10 (through sheath 20), can be manually removed by a health professional such as by the technique illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 3A. This manner of removal, enabled by the construction of sheath 30 and 20, avoids excessive longitudinal pulling forces that can result in damage to the scaffold, catheter, or dislodge the scaffold from the balloon. It also minimizes the overall length of the sheathed scaffold, which can be important for peripherally-implanted scaffolds, which can have lengths up to about 200 mm.

(26) The inner sheath 20 and outer sheath 30 may alternatively be thought of as a protecting sheath 20 and constraining sheath 30, respectively. When the scaffold 10 is constrained by sheath 30, as in FIG. 1, the constraining sheath 30 is located over the section of the protecting sheath 20 where the crimped scaffold 10 is found. This sheath 30 is made from a polymer tube material having a thickness and pre-stressed inner diameter size suitably chosen to cause the sheath 30 to apply a radially inward directed force on the scaffold 10. The thicker the tube and/or the smaller the pre-stressed inner diameter size for the sheath 30 the higher this constraint will be on the scaffold 10. However, the sheath 30 thickness should not be too thick, nor its inner diameter too small as this will make it difficult to remove the sheath 30 from the scaffold 10. If excessive force is needed to reposition the sheath 30, the scaffold 10 can dislodge from the balloon 12 or the scaffold 10 and catheter shaft 4 can become damaged when the sheath 30 is moved.

(27) If only sheath 30 were applied, i.e., the sheath 20 is not present, the amount of preload that the sheath 30 could apply to the scaffold 10 without affecting scaffold-balloon engagement would be limited (pre-load refers to the sheath's ability to apply a radially compressive force on the scaffold or stent to minimize recoil and/or maintain the sheath over the scaffold during transport or handling). However, by introducing the protecting sheath 20 between the scaffold-balloon surface and sheath 30 the sheath 30 can impose a higher preload on the scaffold 10 without risk to the integrity of the scaffold-balloon engagement when the sheath 30 is applied to and/or removed from the scaffold 10. The sheath 20 also protects a coating on the surface of the scaffold or stent while the sheath 30 is being removed. The protecting sheath 20 therefore serves to protect the integrity of the scaffold and/or scaffold-balloon structure as the sheath 30 is repositioned relative to the scaffold 10. Examples of one-piece and two-piece sheaths capable of performing in a similar manner are found in US2012/0324696.

(28) Again referring to FIGS. 1, 1A, 1B and 1C, the protecting sheath 20 extends over about the entire length of the scaffold (as shown) and may extend beyond the distal tip of the catheter assembly 2. The protecting sheath 20 is preferably formed from a unitary piece of polymer material, which is shaped to protect the scaffold/balloon 10/12. The protecting sheath may be configured as a two piece protecting sheath 20 having two separate portions 23 and 24, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, or as a one-piece protecting sheath having a cut 26 defining separate halves 28, 29, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In the case of a one-piece sheath, the cut 26 may begin at a proximal end 20b at 26a. There may be a weakened line 20c to facilitate a tear away of the two halves 28, 29 to separate one from the other, or there may be no weakened line from the start of the cut 26 to the distal end 20b. The halves 29, 28 are configured to freely move apart when the sheath 30 is positioned towards the distal end 20b. In some embodiments, the location 26a is a living hinge 26a about which the upper half 29 and lower half 28 of the sheath 20 can rotate, or deflect away from the scaffold 10 when the sheath 30 is removed. The protecting sheath 20 prevents direct contact between the constraining sheath 30 and the surface of the scaffold 10. After the sheath 30 is removed, the protecting sheath 20 is easily removed due to the presence of halves 23, 24 or 28 and 29, that preferably provide about no radial compressive force on the scaffold-balloon 10/12, as compared to a cylindrical tube that must be slid across the balloon-scaffold when removed. Alternative embodiments of a two-piece protecting sheath are described in FIGS. 11-12 of US2012/0324696.

(29) Referring once again to FIGS. 1, 1A, 1B and 1C there are views of the constraining sheath 30 portion of the sheath. The constraining sheath 30 circumscribes less than all of the sheath and balloon 10/12 when disposed over the scaffold 10/12 and protecting sheath 20, as represented by the opening 50. The sheath 30 is preferably configured in this way to jointly serve two conflicting objectives: (1) apply a radial compressive force on the scaffold 10 to minimize recoil, yet (2) be easily removed by a health professional in an intuitive manner, with reduced risk of causing damage to the scaffold or catheter (see FIG. 3) when the sheath 30 is removed.

(30) Since the sheath 30 is not entirely cylindrically and only partially circumscribes the scaffold 10 (as can be appreciated from the views in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C) there is not a radial force applied directly by the sheath 30 about the entire circumference. However, it was found that objective (1) is met if the sheath 30 is combined with an inner protecting sheath 20 of appropriate thickness or radial stiffness. With such a matching, objective (1) could still be satisfied; that is, radial forces imposed by the scaffold 30 produces a sufficiently uniform radial constraint such that there is maintained a substantially a circular cross-section and limited recoil of the scaffold during a prolonged shelf-life for the medical device. For example, assuming both sheaths 20, 30 are made from the same material, objective (1) may be met when sheath 20 is at least 20%, 30%, 40% or 50% less than the thickness of sheath 30. This relative thickness will enable sheath 20 to effectively distribute the radial compressive load across the uncovered portion of the scaffold 10, i.e., the opening 50 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. If the sheath 20 is too thin, then its radial stiffness is low and the radial compression loading does not distribute across the section of scaffold 10 exposed by the opening 50. Additionally, it will be appreciated that the larger the opening 50 the more thick the sheath 20 should be, as the sheath 20 is called upon more to distribute the radial compressive loads across the opening 50 (so as to create the desired radial loading that limits recoil and maintains a circular cross section when opening 50 is increased in size).

(31) In some embodiments the sheath 20 can have a minimum thickness of 100 microns or less than 100 microns, or 500 microns. The sheath 20 can have a thickness that is 5% of the sheath 30 thickness.

(32) The amount less than the entire scaffold 10 circumscribed by sheath 30, or the uncovered amount (e.g., as an arc length or % opening) will be referred to as opening 50. As can be appreciated from FIG. 1B the opening 50 may be constant across the entire length of the constraining sheath 30. With respect to objective (2) (above) the greater the opening 50 (FIG. 1A) the more easily the sheath 30 may be removed by, e.g., pinching it off the sheath 20, as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 3A. However, the opening 50 cannot be too great as this might cause either the sheath 30 accidentally removed, or removed simultaneously with the sheath 30, which might lead to damage to the scaffold, or result in the combined sheaths 20, 30 not being capable of applying a sufficiently effective radial compressive force about the scaffold to minimize recoil and/or maintain about a circular crimped scaffold, i.e., no outward bulging of the uncovered scaffold portion as a result of unrestrained recoil.

(33) Consistent with objectives, the sheath 30 should circumscribe more than 50%, but less than the entire scaffold 10, to facilitate removal from sheath 20 without disturbing the relationship between the sheath 20/scaffold 10. Opening 50 therefore spans an arc-length less than about 180 degrees. In other aspects, the sheath 30 may circumscribe more than 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70% or 80%, but not the entire scaffold 10; the opening 50 may span about 3%, 6%, 8%, 11%, 13%, 17%, 19%, 22%, 25%, 31%, 33% or 42% of the entire circumference of the scaffold 10; or the opening 50 (expressed as an arc length) may be about 20-50, 80-120, 10, 20, 30, 50, 70, 90, or 110 Deg.

(34) According to another aspect, in keeping with objectives (1) and (2), when fully assembled the sheaths, 20, 30 are preferably arranged so that an entire one of the portions 23, 24 or halves 28, 29 are fully covered by the sheath 30 and the other only partially covered by the sheath 30, or the seam 27 (separating portion 23 and 24) or cut 26 (separating halves 28, 29) are never within the opening 50 or uncovered by the sheath 30. This arrangement is shown in FIG. 1A. In this preferred embodiment the portion 23 is fully covered and the portion 24 partially covered by the sheath 30, or nowhere is seam 27 within the opening 50. By this arrangement, the pinching process (FIG. 3, 3A) can best preclude both sheaths 20, 30 being (unintentionally) removed simultaneously, which is not preferred although acceptable in some embodiments. If, in contrast, the seam 27 were located within the opening 50 (e.g., seams 27 were located 90 degrees from the position shown in FIG. 1A), then a pinching and lifting up of the sheath 30 of the sheath 30 (FIG. 3A) might also remove the sheath 20. If both sheaths 20, 30 are removed simultaneously then there may be damage to the scaffold 10 because the pinching of the fingers (FIGS. 3, 3A) in combination with the sheath 30 removal would cause the sheath 20 to pull across the surface of the scaffold 10 and/or balloon 12 surface.

(35) In an alternative embodiment sheath 20 and 30 may be removed simultaneously. In one example this may be achieved by placing the seam 27 within the opening 50. Additionally, the opening may span a relatively small angle to cause both sheaths 20, 30 to be removed at the same time. For example the angle may be about 5, or 15 degrees. Thus, for a seam within the opening 50 and/or the angle about 5, 10, 15, or between 5 and 20 degrees a pinching or peeling away of the sheath 30 will also pinch or peel away sheath 20.

(36) According to another aspect of the disclosure, a constraining sheath may have an opening 50, a non-circular outer surface to facilitate a peeling-away or pinching of the constraining sheath to remove the constraining sheath from the protecting sheath, and/or a notch intended to cause buckling or kinking of the sheath, thereby causing it to suddenly lose transverse stiffness when the sheath 30 edges defining the opening 50 are pinched together or pulled apart. All these features are intended to facilitate an easier removal of a constraining sheath from a protecting sheath in the manner shown in FIGS. 3-3A.

(37) FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate a constraining sheath 60 having the opening 50 (as in the case of sheath 30), the notch and non-circular outer surface features. A constraining sheath according to embodiments may include the opening 50 and a notch, the opening and a non-circular outer surface, or a combination of all three features as in the illustrated embodiment.

(38) In one embodiment, the non-circular surface for the sheath 60 includes ridges 62a, 62b, 64a, 64b. The sheath 60 also includes a notch 61 formed on the outer surface, inner surface or both outer and inner surfaces at about the location shown, which separates a first portion 60a and second portion 60b of sheath 60. Portions 60a and 60b are symmetric about an axis passing through the notch 61 and center of the scaffold-balloon 10/12 in FIG. 4A. As can be appreciated from the substantially reduced thickness at the notch 61 compared to other portions of the sheath 60, the notch 61 facilitates a folding, kinking or buckling of the sheath 60 at the notch 61 when the sheath 60 is removed from the sheath 20 in the manner shown in FIG. 3A. This can impose less difficulty on the health professional removing the sheath 30, because when the sheath 60 buckles at the notch 61 there is less resistance to deformation by the sheath 60 when the edges are pinched together (FIG. 3A) or pulled apart.

(39) Referring again to FIGS. 4A-4C, portion 60a of the sheath 60, as in the case of portion 60b, has two longitudinally-running ridges 64a, 64b. Preferably these ridges 64a, 64b form a concave surface 65a, in contrast to the convex outer surface of sheath 30 (or the portion of sheath 60 outer surface exclusive of concave surfaces 65a, 65b). Similarly, portion 60b has ridges 62a, 62b and concave surface 65b. The concave surfaces 65a, 65b, which may each have a circumferential extent about the average width of a fingertip, provides a surface that engages the fingertip to facilitate sheath 60 removal from the scaffold. Alternatively, a pair of the ridges 62, 64 may be engaged (one with each finger) to lift the sheath 60 off of the sheath 20.

(40) In alternative embodiments include, in any combination: ridges pairs 62 and 64 may extend only partially or over a portion of the sheath 60, such as two pair (symmetrically disposed about the axis passing through the notch 61 and center of the scaffold 10) or all four of the ridges 62, 64 being located only at about the distal end of the sheath 60; the notch 61 being located only at about the distal end; and the surfaces 65a, 65b being convex as opposed to concave as shown.

(41) The above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.

(42) These modifications can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. The terms used in the claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined entirely by the claims, which are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.