US 11,903,859 B1
Methods for deployment of an implant
Marcel Song Sicotte, San Francisco, CA (US); Austin Michael Bly, San Clemente, CA (US); Ben Collett-Nye, Kumeu (NZ); and Shreya Mehta, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to Zenflow, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed by Zenflow, Inc., South San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 28, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/361,543.
Application 18/361,543 is a continuation of application No. 17/989,112, filed on Nov. 17, 2022.
Application 17/989,112 is a continuation of application No. 17/380,377, filed on Jul. 20, 2021.
Application 17/380,377 is a continuation of application No. 16/433,463, filed on Jun. 6, 2019, granted, now 11,096,774, issued on Aug. 24, 2021.
Application 16/433,463 is a continuation of application No. PCT/US2017/065469, filed on Dec. 8, 2017.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/432,542, filed on Dec. 9, 2016.
Int. Cl. A61F 2/966 (2013.01); A61F 2/04 (2013.01)
CPC A61F 2/966 (2013.01) [A61F 2002/047 (2013.01); A61F 2250/001 (2013.01)] 29 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of deploying an expandable implant within a patient's urethra, the method comprising:
inserting an inner shaft into the urethra with the implant retained within an inner lumen of the inner shaft and covered by the inner shaft;
advancing a distal end of the inner shaft distally along the urethra to, or distally beyond, the patient's bladder neck;
pulling the distal end of the inner shaft back from the bladder neck in a proximal direction;
retracting the inner shaft proximally, relative to the implant, to a partially-retracted position in which the implant is at least partially uncovered while still being retained by the inner shaft;
positioning the implant at a target site within the urethra at a longitudinal position in the urethra proximal to the bladder neck; and
deploying the implant at the target site by further retracting the inner shaft to an extent sufficient to release the implant from the inner shaft.