WOVEN FABRIC WITH CARBON NANOTUBE STRANDS

• US 20090171440A1
• Filed: 09/30/2008
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cook Medical Incorporated (Cook Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cook Incorporated (Cook Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kuppurathanam, Shyam S.V., CARLSON, James M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,998,974 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.150
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/06 Blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/07 Stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/89 the wire-like elements comprising two or more adjacent rings flexibly connected by separate members
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/0068 having a special mesh pattern
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/065 Y-shaped blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 1/0041 Cut or abrasion resistant
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 13/008 characterised by weave density or surface weight
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 15/275 Carbon fibres
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 15/283 synthetic polymer-based, e.g. polyamide or polyester fibres cellulose-based artificial fibres D03D15/225
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 15/33 Ultrafine fibres, e.g. microfibres or nanofibres
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 15/67 Metal wires
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 3/02 Tubular fabrics
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2101/12 Carbon; Pitch
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2101/20 Metallic fibres
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2321/021 polyethylene
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2321/022 polypropylene
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2321/042 polymers of fluorinated hydrocarbons, e.g. polytetrafluoroethene [PTFE]
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2321/10 polymers of unsaturated nitriles, e.g. polyacrylonitrile, polyvinylidene cyanide
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2331/021 aromatic polyamides, e.g. aramides
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2331/04 polyesters, e.g. polyethylene terephthalate [PET]
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2331/10 : polyurethanes
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2401/046 : Shape recovering or form memory
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2401/061 : elastic
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2401/063 : high strength
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2509/06 : Vascular grafts; stents
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/3106 : Hollow strand material

Abstract

A woven fabric for an implantable medical device includes a plurality of carbon nanotube strands interwoven with a plurality of textile strands, where each carbon nanotube strand comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes. An implantable medical device comprises a component and a fabric secured to the component, where the fabric includes a plurality of woven carbon nanotube strands, and each of the carbon nanotube strands comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes.

Claims

1. A woven fabric for an implantable medical device, the woven fabric comprising a plurality of carbon nanotube strands interwoven with a plurality of textile strands, wherein each of the carbon nanotube strands comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes.

2. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein each of the carbon nanotube strands is spun from the plurality of carbon nanotubes.

3. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein a first plurality of the carbon nanotube strands are aligned in a warp direction and a second plurality of the carbon nanotube strands are aligned in a weft direction.

4. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube strands comprise less than about 50% of a total number of strands of the woven fabric.

5. The woven fabric of claim 1 having a thickness of about 0.125 mm or less.

6. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein a line density in a weft direction of the woven fabric ranges from about 100 picks per inch to about 200 picks per inch, and wherein a line density in a warp direction ranges from about 200 ends per inch to about 300 ends per inch.

7. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the textile strands comprise a denier of from about 1 to about 60.

8. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube strands comprise a denier of from about 0.1 to about 30.

9. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the carbon nanotube strands comprise a denier of no more than about half that of the textile strands.

10. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the textile strands comprise a polymer.

11. The woven fabric of claim 1, further comprising one or more pharmaceutical agents releasably attached to the carbon nanotube strands, thereby imparting a drug eluting capability to the woven fabric.

12. The woven fabric of claim 1, further comprising strands of an extracellular matrix material woven into the fabric.

13. The woven fabric of claim 1, further comprising bioabsorbable polymeric strands woven into the fabric.

14. The woven fabric of claim 1, further comprising at least one metallic wire woven into the fabric.

15. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein the woven fabric comprises a weave selected from the group consisting of a plain weave, a basket weave, a twill weave, a rep weave, and a herringbone weave.

16. The woven fabric of claim 1, wherein a first plurality of the carbon nanotube strands are aligned in a warp direction and a second plurality of the carbon nanotube strands are aligned in a weft direction, the carbon nanotube strands comprising less than about 50% of a total number of strands of the woven fabric, and wherein each of the carbon nanotube strands is spun from the plurality of carbon nanotubes, and

wherein the textile strands comprise polyester strands having a denier of from about 1 to about 60, and wherein the carbon nanotube strands comprise a denier of no more than about half that of the polyester strands, and

wherein the woven fabric has a thickness of about 0.125 mm or less.

17. An implantable medical device comprising:

a component;

a fabric secured to the component, the fabric comprising a plurality of woven carbon nanotube strands, wherein each of the carbon nanotube strands comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes.

18. The implantable medical device of claim 17, wherein the fabric is comprised substantially entirely of the carbon nanotube strands.

19. The implantable medical device of claim 17, wherein the fabric further comprises a plurality of textile strands interwoven with the carbon nanotube strands.

20. The implantable medical device of claim 19, wherein the component is a stent.