referring to fig1 , general components of a actuation system 10 are illustrated . when in use , actuation system 10 is releasably attached to a proximal end of an endolumenal implant delivery system such as a catheter 19 or a comparable implant delivery tool including a pull wire 16 disposed axially in a catheter body 18 , such as a hypotube . system 10 is held and operated by a practitioner during a procedure to implant one or more devices into the vasculature of a patient . as described in further detail below , system 10 includes a handle 20 which houses mechanisms for grasping a proximal end of the pull wire 16 , and then abruptly retracting the pull wire upon actuation by a user . operation may be effected by a single pull by the practitioner &# 39 ; s thumb and the implant is thereby deployed in a decisive , consistent , and reliable manner regardless of variations in speed and force applied by the user . in order to use system 10 , an implant is loaded into the catheter 19 ( for example the coil delivery catheter described in commonly owned , copending application ser . no . 12 / 498 , 752 , previously incorporated herein by reference ) and carried until the implant and the distal end of catheter 19 are properly positioned in a blood vessel or other body lumen for deployment . the pull wire 16 , extends through catheter body 18 , and the proximal end of the pull wire is loaded into the distal end of handle 20 after positioning a proximal end of the catheter body 18 at the apex of a funnel 12 formed in a distal end of the handle 20 . although the term “ wire ” is used herein , it will be understood that any elongated filament of suitable mechanical properties and structure is included in the term . while other configurations are within the scope of the invention , handle 20 advantageously includes a finger groove 21 defined by the exterior of handle 20 . also disposed on the exterior of handle 20 is a thumb grip 34 , which is axially movable along the exterior of handle 20 via a channel or comparable structure 34 ′ ( fig2 a ). thumb grip 34 may be pulled in a proximal direction as indicated by the arrow in fig1 in order to release or otherwise deploy the implant loaded from the distal end of the catheter 19 ( as described in commonly owned , copending application ser . no . 12 / 498 , 752 , previously incorporated herein by reference ). thumb grip 34 and handle 20 may be shaped as illustrated in fig1 or otherwise suitably configured to optimize ergonomic functioning . similarly , handle 20 may be of any dimensions suitable for optimal handling by a user . handle 20 may be manufactured from a suitable medical grade plastic , such as santoprene medical grade thermoplastic vulcanizate available from exxonmobil chemical , or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene ( abs ) available from lustran . suitable materials include materials that may be sterilized in ethylene oxide or radiation , or in an autoclave . further , desirable materials include those that are injection moldable and recyclable . the external surfaces of handle 20 are preferably smooth and non - abrasive . the internal components of handle 20 may be manufactured from polycarbonate and silicone available from rtp co . or similar materials and may additionally include stainless steel , rubber or other suitable materials . manual actuation system 10 may include additional elements , materials and coatings for securing the components and for smooth inter - operative engagement of the components . an overview of the operation of handle 20 is as follows . fig2 a - 5b illustrate “ snapshots ” taken throughout the sequence of operational steps of system 10 . they highlight the most significant transition points of the interaction of the components of system 10 , during the retraction of thumb grip 34 . in reality , there are an infinite number of configurations of the working components of handle 20 , but the range of configurations can be divided into separate phases . a first phase can be referred to as a “ resting position ”, in which thumb grip 34 is not retracted and lies in its distal - most position , as illustrated in fig2 a , and in detail in fig2 b . a “ grasping position ” in which thumb grip 34 is slightly retracted in the proximal direction ( indicated by the arrow ) is illustrated in fig3 a , and in detail in fig3 b . after the pull wire 16 is grasped , thumb grip 34 is pulled through a longer “ priming phase ”, until it reaches a latch release position ( fig4 a - 4b ). following latch release , pull wire 16 is abruptly pulled proximally ( fig5 a - 5b ), and the system 10 returns to the initial resting position following release of thumb grip 34 . the pull wire 16 is automatically released from the grabber and the handle is ready for use with another catheter or delivery device . a more detailed description of these separate phases of operation of system 10 , with reference again to fig2 a - 5b , includes an overview of the changes in configuration of the mechanisms of system 10 throughout these phases . the principle internal components of handle 20 are grabber 24 , slider 28 , and shuttle 36 . in the “ at rest ” position , grabber 24 is lifted “ open ” for receiving pull wire 16 between grabber elements 25 and 27 which are mounted on shuttle 36 . in the “ grasping position ” grabber elements 25 and 27 are allowed to close on the proximal end of pull wire 16 , thus coupling the pull wire to the shuttle 36 . during the priming phase , thumb grip 34 is proximally retracted to pull slider 28 axially along handle 20 , but shuttle 36 and grabber 24 remain latched to the handle 20 and stationary until slider 28 triggers release of the latch which allows the shuttle to be drawn in a proximal direction by a spring mechanism which , because the shuttle is coupled to grabber 24 , abruptly retracts pull wire 16 . the features of the primary mechanisms can be described as follows , though it will be understood that other configurations are possible according to the invention . the “ at rest ” and “ grasping ” positions result from interaction between parts of grabber 24 and slider 28 . as shown in fig2 a , grabber 24 includes a rocker arm 22 pivotally connected to shuttle 36 via a pivot point 29 . a spring 23 biases rocker arm 22 to rotate in a clockwise direction to a “ closed position ”. however , when at rest ( prior to initial proximal retraction of the thumb slide 34 ), grabber 24 is held “ open ” with grabber element 25 lifted away from grabber element 27 by a wedge 26 carried by slider 28 . an upper surface of wedge 26 engages a lower surface of rocker arm 22 , biasing rocker arm 22 upwardly against the force of spring 23 . while the grabber 24 is thus open , the proximal end of pull wire 16 is loaded through a passage 15 at the apex of the funnel 12 into the distal end of handle 20 . the proximal end of catheter 18 is received within funnel 12 but blocked from entry into the handle 20 by channel 15 which is sized to allow the pull wire but not the catheter to pass through . an initial , slight retraction of thumb grip 34 ( in the direction of the proximal direction indicated by the arrow on fig3 a ) removes the wedge 26 from beneath the rocker arm 22 and allows grabber 24 to grasp the proximal end of wire 16 . though the change in configuration between “ at rest ” and “ grasping ” is quite subtle , the grasping configuration is illustrated in fig3 a and in detail in fig3 b . slider 28 is linked to thumb grip 34 . slider 28 has a wedge 26 . after slight retraction of thumb grip 34 , slider 28 travels axially , and wedge 26 also travels axially , out of nesting engagement with grabber 24 . in turn , retraction of wedge 26 permits spring 23 to bias rocker arm 22 pivotally about pivot point 29 . grabber element 25 and grabber element 27 can thereby engage or “ grasp ” wire 16 . note that while the slider 28 , wedge 26 , and thumb grip 34 are illustrated as a monolithic structure , they could be provided as separate components which are joined or connected by conventional techniques . for the purposes of the present invention , it is important only that they are sufficiently coupled so that they travel in unison as the thumb grip is retracted and later advanced . following grasping of the pull wire , further retraction of thumb grip 34 serves to “ prime ” system 10 for launch of shuttle 36 . during the “ priming ” phase , grabber 24 remains stationary , along with pull wire 16 and shuttle 36 . shuttle 36 ( now stationary ) is linked to slider 28 ( which is being retracted ) via extension spring 35 . during refraction of slider 28 , extension spring 35 is progressively stretched , and potential “ retraction ” energy within extension spring 35 is increasing . shuttle 36 remains stationary because coupled by a button 52 to a stop 48 formed on or attached to an inner surface of the housing 20 . priming of the system continues as thumb grip 34 is retracted proximally until a trip 38 on a lower distal portion of slider 28 engages and depresses the button 52 to release the stop 48 , allowing the shuttle 36 to be drawn proximally by spring 35 . ( illustrated in fig4 a - 4b ). button 52 extends from latch member 50 , which is cut within a sidewall or otherwise disposed upon shuttle 36 . when system 10 is at rest , and during the priming phase , button 52 rests against stop 48 . with respect to slider 28 , a trip 38 is defined by the proximal end of wedge 26 . trip 38 , as a matter of course , travels proximally with slider 28 during retraction of slider 28 . when slider 28 is retracted to the point that trip 38 reaches button 52 , trip 38 acts to depress button 52 via latch member 50 , thereby releasing button 52 from its resting position against stop 48 . ( see fig4 a - 4b ). the release of button 52 permits the spring action of extension spring 35 , which thereby ‘ launches ’ shuttle 36 in a proximal direction within handle 20 . ( see fig5 a - 5b .) and because pull wire 16 is within the grasp of grabber 24 , this decisive retraction of shuttle 36 also decisively retracts pull wire 16 . and upon the decisive retraction of pull wire 16 , the implant ( not pictured ) is deployed . referring back to the “ priming ” phase , during extension of spring 35 , a compression spring 37 is increasingly compressed , and compressive force increases within compression spring 37 . following the launching phase , the user may then release thumb grip 34 . upon release of thumb grip 34 , the tension stored in compression spring 37 acts to return slider 28 and shuttle 36 to a neutral position , shown in fig2 a . as full distal travel of the slider 28 causes the wedge 26 to engage and lift the rocker arm 22 . the pull wire 16 is released . this is both a safety feature as detachment of the actuation system 10 from the catheter or other delivery system reduces the risk of inadvertently disturbing the deployed implant as well as a convenience since the handle is then ready to repeat the foregoing process if desired . while the invention may be modified and alternative forms may be used , specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail . it should be understood , however , that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed . the invention and following claims are intended to cover all modifications and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention .
a system for mechanically deploying intraluminal implants is disclosed . the system is used with an implant that is delivered and / or deployed via a pull wire and includes a handle having a funnel and receiving channel for receiving the pull wire , a slider having a thumb grip and a wedge , and a shuttle having a grabber for grasping the pull wire . the thumb grip is pulled proximally to retract the wedge to cause the grabber to grasp the wire and retract the shuttle but not the wire . an extension spring linked between the slider and the shuttle abruptly pulls the shuttle to retract the pull wire after the slider is fully retracted .