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Stent apparatuses for treatment via body lumens and methods of use

  • US 10,070,977 B2
  • Filed: 05/24/2006
  • Issued: 09/11/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2005
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An enhanced stent apparatus, comprising:

  • a support element comprising metal struts constructed to be positioned in a body lumen; and

    a cover disposed over an exterior of the support element, wherein the cover is knitted and consists essentially of a single polymer fiber having a diameter of at least 40 nanometers to 30 microns, the single polymer fiber is biodegradable or bioresorbable, said knitted cover extending over an entire length of the exterior and having apertures sized from 100 microns to 200 microns in diameter to expose the exterior of the support to a luminal wall when the stent apparatus is placed in a body lumen, wherein said single fiber and the apertures are correspondingly sized to facilitate the growth of endothelial cells therethrough, and wherein the knitted cover has sufficient slack in the single fiber as knit to permit the knitted cover to expand upon radial expansion of the support element,wherein the cover is a single knit layer disposed directly over and adjacent to the support element, the cover is configured to hold detached plaque in place thereby preventing it from traveling into a blood stream in the lumen, and the cover is disposed as a single layer at each end of the support element, andwherein the cover and the support element are attached together at a plurality of locations using sliding connections, each sliding connection being a loop of the single polymer fiber connecting the cover and the support element, and the sliding connections providing additional expandability to the cover and allowing the cover to expand differently than the support element.

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