INTERVENTIONAL MEDICAL DEVICE COMPONENT HAVING AN INTERRUPTED SPIRAL SECTION AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME

• US 20080097398A1
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Codman & Shurtleff Incorporated (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Codman & Shurtleff Incorporated (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Mitelberg, Vladimir, Sowers, William W., Balgobin, Keith, Thinnes, John H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,708,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 604/525
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0043 characterised by structural features
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0054 with regions for increasing flexibility
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/0524 Plural cutting steps

Abstract

A component for use as or incorporation within a medical instrument navigable through body vessels of a human subject is provided. The component includes a tubular portion with an interrupted spiral defined by alternating cut and uncut sections. The interrupted spiral has a rigidity between that of a continuous cut spiral and an uncut tube. The rigidity of the interrupted spiral along its length may be varied by changing its pitch or the number of bridge members or the length of each bridge member. According to a method of manufacturing such a component, a tubular member and a cutting member are provided. At least one of the tubular member and the cutting member is moved though an angle defining a helical path with respect to the other, while the cutting member is alternated between cutting and not cutting the tubular member to form an interrupted spiral.

Claims

1. A component of an interventional medical device operable while within a body vessel, comprising a generally hollow tubular portion including a spiral ribbon having adjacent turns, said ribbon being between a helically oriented pathway of a plurality of open sections alternating with bridge members in end-to-end fashion, wherein said spiral ribbon defines a relatively rigid region, a relatively flexible region, and a first transition region between the relatively rigid region and the relatively flexible region.

2. The component of claim 1, wherein said first transition region has a rigidity less than the rigidity of the relatively rigid region and greater than the rigidity of the relatively flexible region.

3. The component of claim 2, wherein the helically oriented pathway has a first pitch in the relatively rigid region, a second pitch in the relatively flexible region, and a third pitch in the first transition region, and wherein the pitches are different from each other.

4. The component of claim 3, wherein the first pitch is greater than the third pitch and the third pitch is greater than the second pitch.

5. The component of claim 4, wherein the second pitch is between 20-75% of the first pitch.

6. The component of claim 2, further comprising a second transition region between the first transition region and the relatively flexible region, wherein the second transition region has a rigidity less than the rigidity of the first transition region and greater than the rigidity of the relatively flexible region.

7. The component of claim 6, wherein the helically oriented pathway has a first pitch in the relatively rigid region, a second pitch in the relatively flexible region, and a third pitch in the first transition region, and a fourth pitch in the second transition region, and wherein the pitches are different from each other.

8. The component of claim 7, wherein the first pitch is greater than the third pitch, the third pitch is greater than the fourth pitch, and the fourth pitch is greater than the second pitch.

9. The component of claim 8, wherein said third pitch is between 75-90% of the first pitch, said fourth pitch is between 70-80% of the third pitch, and the second pitch is between 60-70% of the fourth pitch.

10. The component of claim 1, wherein said first transition region comprises between two and four turns of the spiral ribbon.

11. The component of claim 1, wherein each of the relatively rigid region, the relatively flexible region, and the first transition region includes a plurality of bridge members.

12. The component of claim 11, wherein each bridge member is out of axial alignment with an adjacent bridge member of the helically oriented pathway.

13. The component of claim 11, wherein each bridge member is out of axial alignment with each bridge member immediately adjacent thereto, and wherein each bridge member is non-frangible during use within a body vascular system.

14. A neurovascular implant delivery system device movable through a microcatheter within a neurovascular vessel, comprising a generally hollow tubular portion including a spiral ribbon having adjacent turns, said ribbon being between a helically oriented pathway of a plurality of open sections alternating with a plurality of bridge members in end-to-end fashion, wherein each bridge member is out of axial alignment with an adjacent bridge member of the helically oriented pathway.

15. The neurovascular implant delivery system device of claim 14, wherein said spiral ribbon comprises a wound member and each bridge member comprises a weld between two adjacent turns of the spiral ribbon.

16. The neurovascular implant delivery system device of claim 14, wherein the bridge members define a substantially helical pattern different from the helically oriented pathway.

17. The neurovascular implant delivery system device of claim 14, wherein said helically oriented pathway is substantially defined by cut sections of an interrupted spiral cut, and wherein said bridge members comprise uncut sections of the interrupted spiral cut, said bridge members being non-frangible during use.

18. The neurovascular implant delivery system device of claim 17, wherein each uncut section has an arcuate extent in the range of approximately 10°

and approximately 65°

, and wherein each cut section has an arcuate extent in the range of approximately 45° and

approximately 270°

19. The neurovascular implant delivery system device of claim 18, wherein each uncut section has an arcuate extent of approximately 45°

, and wherein each cut section has an arcuate extent of approximately 220°

.

20. The neurovascular implant delivery system device of claim 18, wherein for each bridge member, the sum of the arcuate extents of said bridge member and an adjacent cut section is neither a factor of 360°

nor a multiple of 90°

.

21. The neurovascular implant delivery system device of claim 14, wherein said spiral ribbon comprises the distal-most 15-30% of the neurovascular implant delivery system device.

22. The neurovascular implant delivery system device of claim 14, wherein the neurovascular implant delivery system device has an outer diameter no greater than 0.025 inch.

23. A method of manufacturing a component of an interventional medical device operable while within a body vessel, comprising:

providing a generally hollow tubular member;

providing a cutting member;

operating the cutting member to create a helically oriented cut section in the tubular member, while moving at least one of the tubular member and the cutting member through a first angle defining a substantially helical path with respect to the other;

preventing the cutting member from cutting a portion of the tubular member to create a helically oriented uncut section adjacent to the cut section, while continuing to move at least one of the tubular member and the cutting member through the first angle;

alternating between creating cut sections and uncut sections, while continuing to move at least one of the tubular member and the cutting member through the first angle to define a first region;

changing the first angle to a second angle, while continuing to alternate between creating cut sections and uncut sections to define a second region; and

changing the second angle to a third angle, while continuing to alternate between creating cut sections and uncut sections to define a third region.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said alternating between creating helically oriented cut sections and uncut sections includes creating uncut sections out of axial alignment with each uncut section immediately adjacent thereto.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein said alternating between creating cut sections and uncut sections includes creating helically oriented uncut sections each having an arcuate extent in the range of approximately 10°

and approximately 65°

, and creating helically oriented cut sections each having an arcuate extent in the range of approximately 45° and

approximately 270°

.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein said alternating between creating cut sections and uncut sections includes creating helically oriented uncut sections each having an arcuate extent of approximately 45°

, and creating helically oriented cut sections each having an arcuate extent of approximately 220°

.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of changing the third angle to a fourth angle, while continuing to alternate between creating cut sections and uncut sections to define a fourth region.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of incorporating the component into a neurovascular implant delivery system device.