Patent US2229553A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0540290A2
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Expandable stents and method for making same
Assignee: Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc
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Filing: 1992-10-27
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-10-27
Abstract
Abstract The invention is directed to an expandable stent (10) for implantation in a body lumen, such as an artery, and a method for making it from a single length of tubing. The stent (10) consists of a plurality of radially expandable cylindrical elements (12) generally aligned on a common axis and interconnected by one or more interconnective elements (13). The individual radially expandable cylindrical elements (12) consist of ribbon-like material disposed in an undulating pattern. The stents (10) are made by coating a length of tubing (21) with an etchant-resistive material and then selectively removing portions of the coating to form a pattern for the stent (10) on the tubing (21) to expose the portions of the tubing to be removed. This may be done by machine-controlled activation and relative positioning of a laser (24) in conjunction with the coated tubing (21). After the patterning of the tubing (21), the stent (10) is formed by removing exposed portions of the tubing (21) by an etching process.
Inventors
- 👤 Lilip Lau
- 👤 William M. Hartigan
- 👤 John J. Frantzen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 19:23
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61F; A61F2/00; A61F2/82; A61F2/86; A61F2/88; A61F2/89; A61F2/90; A61F2/91; A61F2/915; C; C23; C23F; C23F1/00; C23F1/02; C23F1/04; A61F2/848; A61F2/95; A61F2/958; A61F2002/91533; A61F2002/9155; A61F2002/91558; A61F2002/91575; A61F2210/00; A61F2210/0014; A61F2210/0019; A61M; A61M25/00; A61M25/10; A61M2025/1043; A61M2025/1081; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S623/00; Y10S623/901; Y10S623/902; Y10S623/903; Y10S623/92; Y10S623/921; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49995
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
33 words
A longitudinally flexible stent, comprising a plurality of cylindrically shaped elements which are independently expandable in the radial direction and which are interconnected so as to be generally aligned on a common axis.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
21 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein the cylindrically shaped members are adapted to retain their expanded condition upon the expansion thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The stent of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the radially expandable cylindrical elements in an unexpanded condition have a length less than the diameter thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
The stent of any preceding claim wherein each radially expandable cylindrical element is formed of a structural member having transverse dimensions with an aspect ratio of less than two to one, with the structural member formed in an undulating pattern and disposed about the longitudinal axis of the stent.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The stent of claim 4 wherein the structural member is formed of a biocompatible material selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, tungsten, tantalum, superelastic NiTi alloys and thermoplastic polymers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
The stent of any preceding claim wherein the cylindrically shaped members have interconnective elements at one end thereof which are in axial alignment with interconnecting elements on the opposite end of the cylindrical elements.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
The stent of claim 6 wherein each interconnecting element at one end of a cylindrical element is circumferentially displaced from an interconnective element on the opposite end of the cylindrical element.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The stent of claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the circumferential displacement of the interconnecting elements is of equal magnitude.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The stent of any preceding claim, wherein there are up to four interconnective elements disposed between adjacent radially expandable cylindrical elements.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The stent of any preceding claim, wherein the radially expandable cylindrical elements and the interconnecting elements are made of the same material.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
The stent of claim 9 wherein the stent is formed from a single piece of tubing.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The stent of any preceding claim, wherein the cylindrical elements are formed of structural members in an undulating pattern.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
The stent of claim 12 wherein the undulating patterns of the structural members of the stent are in phase.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
The stent of claim 13 wherein the connecting elements of the stent are all connected to either the peaks or the valleys of the undulating structural members.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
46 words
The process of making a stent which includes the steps of: a) applying a coating resistive to chemical etching to a length of tubing; b) selectively removing portions of the resistive coating to expose sections of the tubing; and c) removing exposed portions of the tubing.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
The process of claim 15 wherein a plurality of stents are made from a single piece of tubing.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
32 words
The process of claim 15 or claim 16 wherein the stent is made from a biocompatible material selected from the group consisting of polymers, stainless steel, titanium, superelastic NiTi alloys and tantalum.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
17 words
The process of any of claims 15 to 17, wherein the coating is applied by electrophoretic deposition.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
105 words
A method for deploying a stent of claim 1 within a body lumen of a patient which is made of biocompatible thermoplastic polymeric material, which includes the steps of: a) placing the stent on the expandable portion of a catheter which is adapted to heat and expand the stent; b) delivering the stent to a desired location within the body lumen; c) heating and expanding the stent; d) allowing the stent to cool in an expanded state so as to rigidify the stent and allow it to hold open the body lumen; e) contracting the expandable portion of the catheter; and f) withdrawing the catheter.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
14 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein the stent is coated with a biocompatible coating.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for making open reticulated tubular structure, comprising the steps of: a) providing a discrete length of thin walled tubing; b) forming a resistive coating onto the exterior of the tubing; c) selectively removing portions of the resistive coating on the exterior of the tubing to leave the desired pattern of the complete open reticulated tubular structure coated with resistive coating and to expose portion of the tubing to be removed; and d) removing the exposed portions of the tubing.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the exposed portions of the tubing is removed by etching.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the selective removal of the resistive coating is accomplished by machine controlled relative movement of the tubing and a laser.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 23 wherein the laser used to selectively remove the resistive coating emits a particular wavelength of light which is readily absorbable by said coating.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 23 or claim 24 wherein the laser is a CO₂ gas laser.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
20 words
The method of any of claims 21 to 25 wherein the resistive coating used is a photolithographic chemically resistive coating.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
73 words
A kit comprising: a) an elongated stent delivery catheter having proximal and distal extremities, and an expandable member on the distal extremity; and b) a longitudinally flexible stent which is adapted to a slidably mounted on to the expandable member of said catheter and which comprises a plurality of cylindrical elements which are independently expandable in the radial direction and which are interconnected so as to be generally aligned on a common axis.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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