Process for manufacturing braided composite prosthesis
First Claim
1. A process for making a prosthesis, including:
- providing a plurality of structural strands formed of structural material and having an original nominal shape;
providing a plurality of compliant textile strands;
altering the structural strands while they remain separate from the textile strands, to impart to each of the structural strands a selected nominal shape in lieu of the original nominal shape; and
after said altering, braiding the textile strands and the altered structural strands into an integrated structure in which the structural strands together provide a tubular shape of the integrated structure and the textile strands form a textile sheeting supported by the structural strands and adapted to compliantly conform to changes from said tubular shape due to deformations of the structural strands.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A process is disclosed for manufacturing a prothesis for intraluminal implantation. The prosthesis is formed with a flexible tubular interbraided structure of metal or polymeric monofilaments, and polymeric multifilament yarns, and can be elastically deformed to reduce its diameter through axial elongation. The monofilaments and multifilament yarns are wound on a mandrel arranged in axially spaced apart helices, concentric on a common central axis of the prosthesis. The monofilaments are selectively shaped before their interbraiding with the multifilament yarns, either by an age-hardening or other heat-setting stage while wound on a mandrel, or by a cold-working stage that controllably plastically deforms the strands. The shaped structural strands cooperate to impart to the prosthesis its nominal shape and resilience. The textile strands are interbraided with the structural strands to provide a sheeting that occupies interstices between adjacent structural strands, to reduce permeability and thereby enhance the utility of the prosthesis as a vascular graft. An alternative process employs elastically and plastically deformable structural strands, selectively plastically deformed by cold-working as they are moved toward a station for interbraiding with textile strands to form the prosthesis.
208 Citations
56 Claims
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1. A process for making a prosthesis, including:
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providing a plurality of structural strands formed of structural material and having an original nominal shape; providing a plurality of compliant textile strands; altering the structural strands while they remain separate from the textile strands, to impart to each of the structural strands a selected nominal shape in lieu of the original nominal shape; and after said altering, braiding the textile strands and the altered structural strands into an integrated structure in which the structural strands together provide a tubular shape of the integrated structure and the textile strands form a textile sheeting supported by the structural strands and adapted to compliantly conform to changes from said tubular shape due to deformations of the structural strands. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A process for making a prosthesis, including:
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providing a plurality of strands for interbraiding at a braiding station, said strands including elastically and plastically deformable structural strands formed of metal and having an original nominal shape; moving said strands in concert toward the braiding station; while so moving the structural strands, controllably plastically deforming the structural strands to impart to each structural strand a selected nominal shape; and after plastically deforming the structural strands, braiding the strands into an integrated structure, and selectively orienting the structural strands while braiding to impart a predetermined configuration to the integrated structure. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. A process for making a prosthesis, including:
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providing a plurality of thermally formable structural strands having an original nominal shape; providing a plurality of compliant textile strands; altering the structural strands by winding the structural strands around a selectively sized and shaped mandrel, then heating the strands while so wound to a heat-forming temperature sufficient to thermally impart to each of the structural strands a selected nominal shape in lieu of the original shape; and after said altering, interbraiding the textile strands and the structural strands into an integrated structure. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A process for making a prosthesis, including:
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providing a plurality of structural strands formed of metal and having an original nominal shape; providing a plurality of compliant textile strands; altering the structural strands by bending each of the strands about a form having a selected radius while maintaining the strands at a selected tension, to selectively plastically deform the structural strands thereby imparting to each structural strand a selected nominal shape in lieu of the original nominal shape; and after said altering, interbraiding the textile strands and the structural strands into an integrated structure. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A process for making a prosthesis, including:
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providing a plurality of structural strands formed of structural material having an original nominal shape; providing a plurality of compliant textile strands; altering the structural strands to impart to each of the structural strands a selected nominal shape in lieu of the original nominal shape; and after said altering, interbraiding the textile strands and the altered structural strands into an integrated structure by forming the structural strands into a latticework that shapes the integrated structure, and by forming the textile strands into a textile sheeting supported by the latticework, conforming to the latticework, and occupying interstices between adjacent structural strands of the latticework. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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56. A process for making a prosthesis, including:
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providing at least one structural strand formed of a structural material and having an original nominal shape; providing a plurality of compliant textile strands; altering the at least one structural strand while the at least one strand remains separate from the textile strands, to impart to each said structural strand a selected nominal shape in lieu of the original nominal shape; and after said altering, interbraiding the textile strands and the at least one structural strand into an integrated structure in which the at least one structural strand provides a tubular shape of the integrated structure and the textile strands form a textile sheeting supported by the at least one structural strand and adapted to compliantly conform to changes from the predetermined shape due to deformations of the at least one structural strand.
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Specification