| abstract |
The present invention provides a catheter (2), an introducer system (412), and a methodology for creating a bypass on demand between an unobstructed blood vessel (500) such as the aorta, and an obstructed blood vessel such as an obstructed coronary artery in vivo using a shaped memory alloy cuff (300) and a graft segment (400) in tandem as a shunt. The invention allows the placement and creation of single or multiple bypass grafts without use of a heart/lung machine, and without need for stopping the heart of the patient during the coronary artery bypass surgery. |