ACTIVE STENT

• US 20080132998A1
• Filed: 09/12/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Merit Medical Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Alveolus, Inc. (Merit Medical Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: MANGIARDI, ERIC K., Alexander, Tony D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,887,579 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.17
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/91 made from perforated sheet material or tubes, e.g. perforated by laser cuts or etched holes
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2210/0095 radioactive
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0054 V-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0018 differing in elasticity, stiffness or compressibility
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0019 differing in hardness, e.g. Vickers, Shore, Brinell
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0029 differing in bending or flexure capacity

Abstract

The present invention, in an exemplary embodiment, provides a stent, which combines many of the excellent characteristics of both silicone and metal stents while eliminating the undesirable ones. In particular, a principal objective in accordance with the present invention is to provide a family of stents where the relative hardness/softness of regions of the stent can differ from other regions of the stent to provide additional patient comfort and resistance to radial forces. An exemplary embodiment also provides a family of stents with obstruction clearance and/or radiation therapy capabilities.

Claims

1. A medical appliance for placement within a portion of the anatomy of a patient, the appliance comprising:

a scaffolding, the scaffolding configured to define a substantially cylindrical member having a distal end and a proximal end and extending longitudinally therebetween, forming a lumen therethrough, said scaffolding including;

at least three consecutive circumferential bands, each of the circumferential bands having peaks and valleys and

a plurality of flexible connectors extending between adjacent ones of the circumferential bands, each of said connectors connecting one of the peaks to one of the valleys;

such that when pressure is exerted along varying points of the longitudinal extension of the appliance, the appliance does not undesirably foreshorten or elongate.

2. The medical appliance of claim 1, wherein the medical appliance scaffolding comprises a transition metal.

3. The medical appliance of claim 2, wherein the transition metal is radioactive.

4. The medical appliance of claim 3, wherein the radioactive signal is provided in a pharmaceutically acceptable amount to treat the target tissue with minimal collateral tissue exposure.

5. The medical appliance of claim 1, wherein the medical appliance is radially contractable in response to exposure to a magnetic field.

6. A method of treating a patient with an obstruction inside a medical implant, comprising the steps of:

providing a medical appliance comprising a scaffolding, the scaffolding configured to define a substantially cylindrical member having a distal end and a proximal end and extending longitudinally there between, forming a lumen there through, along the longitudinal extension of the appliance the scaffolding forms geometrical patterns formed by angles, wherein the angles determine the relative flexibility of the medical appliance such that the appliance conforms to the topography of a target lumen and when pressure is exerted along varying points of the longitudinal extension of the appliance, the appliance does not undesirably foreshorten or elongate;

activating medical appliance contraction to force the obstruction to migrate; and

activating expansion of the medical appliance to the pre-contracted state.