for the insertion into the body of a patient, by means of a crimping apparatus.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,968,607 B2 discloses a crimping apparatus consisting of a plurality of crimping segments. The ends of the crimping segments are attached to a drum along a circle and can be pivoted about a pivot, which is at a distance from the attachment point. The other end of the crimping segments can be pivoted toward the center of the circle by rotating the drum. In the pivoted-open state, the crimping segments form a central opening therebetween, into which a stent can be inserted such that the segments encompass the stent. When the segments are pivoted toward the center of the circle, the central opening is reduced and theindividual segments press against the external circumference of the stent from all sides such that the latter is compressed. The drum can be rotated by means of an actuation lever. The stents are fed to the crimping apparatus through an input and output opening and are removed in the crimped state.
Similar crimping apparatuses, for example with an integrated device for tempering the stent during the crimping process, or for example with an integrated device that provides the stent with an envelope during the compression, are known from US 2008/0072653 A1 and WO 2006/050425 A2.
In another crimping apparatus according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,855, a stent is encompassed by a Mylar film. The ends of the film are guided through a slit in a solid plate, and so the