| CPC A61F 2/186 (2013.01) [A61B 2017/00367 (2013.01); A61B 17/3468 (2013.01); A61B 2090/0811 (2016.02); A61F 5/56 (2013.01); A61F 2210/0004 (2013.01); A61F 2210/0014 (2013.01); A61F 2210/0076 (2013.01); A61F 2220/0016 (2013.01); A61F 2230/006 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0018 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0025 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0026 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0029 (2013.01); A61F 2250/003 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0039 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0098 (2013.01)] | 19 Claims |
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1. A system comprising:
a nasal implant delivery tool, the nasal implant delivery tool comprising:
a handle;
a needle extending distally from the handle, wherein the needle has a needle lumen,
a loading chamber communicating with the needle lumen, and
an actuator configured to move a nasal implant along the needle lumen and out of an opening at a distal end of the needle; and
a nasal implant having a proximal end, a distal end, and a central longitudinal axis extending between the proximal end and the distal end,
wherein the nasal implant includes a first arm and a second arm at the distal end of the nasal implant,
wherein the first arm and the second arm have (i) a contracted configuration in which the first arm and the second arm are contracted toward the central longitudinal axis and (ii) an expanded configuration in which the first arm and the second arm extend away from the central longitudinal axis by a greater extent than when the first arm and the second arm are in the contracted configuration,
wherein the first arm and the second arm are biased toward the expanded configuration, and
wherein the loading chamber of the nasal implant delivery tool is configured to:
receive the nasal implant into the nasal implant delivery tool, and
transition the nasal implant from the expanded configuration to the contracted configuration as the nasal implant moves through the loading chamber and into the needle lumen
wherein the loading chamber comprises a first lateral wall and a second lateral wall,
wherein, along a distal direction, a distance between the first lateral wall and the second lateral wall of the loading chamber narrows toward the central longitudinal axis,
wherein the first arm engages the first lateral wall and the second arm engages the second lateral wall responsive to the nasal implant moving through the loading chamber and into the needle lumen,
wherein the loading chamber further comprises a floor extending between the first lateral wall and the second lateral wall,
wherein the first lateral wall, the second lateral wall, a proximal wall, and a distal wall define an aperture of the loading chamber that opposes the floor,
wherein the aperture of the loading chamber comprises a proximal section, a distal section, and a shaping chamber section between the proximal section and the distal section, and
wherein the first lateral wall and the second lateral wall narrows toward the central longitudinal axis at the shaping chamber section,
wherein a distance between the first lateral wall and the second lateral wall is greater at the proximal section than the shaping chamber section, and
wherein a distance between the first lateral wall and the second lateral wall is greater at the distal section than the shaping chamber section the proximal wall and the distal wall of the loading chamber each comprise an aperture through which the actuator is configured to pass.
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