Braided composite prosthesis
First Claim
1. A prosthesis, including:
- an integrated structure including an interbraiding of a plurality of structural strands and a plurality of compliant textile stands, said structural strands cooperating to form a latticework, and said textile strands cooperating to form a textile sheeting integral with and supported by the latticework and occupying interstices between adjacent structural stands of the latticework;
wherein said structural strands are formed of a structural material having a tendency to assume a nominal shape when in a relaxed state, and have respective selected nominal strand shapes imparted by a treatment prior to interbraiding;
wherein said treatment permanently alters at least one physical characteristic of the structural strands and is selected from the group consisting of;
(1) a selective plastic deformation from an original nominal strand shape to the selected strand shape; and
(2) a selective thermal setting including a heating of the structural strand to a temperature greater than a melting temperature of the textile strands while the structural strand is maintained in the selected nominal strand shape;
wherein the structural strands have selected orientations within the integrated structure to impart a predetermined nominal configuration to the integrated structure; and
wherein the textile sheeting fills the voids between adjacent structural strands and essentially prevents leakage of bodily fluids including blood.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A prothesis for transluminal implantation consists of a flexible tubular interbraided structure of metal or polymeric monofilaments, and polymeric multifilament yarns. The prosthesis can be elastically deformed to reduce its diameter through axial elongation. The monofilaments and multifilament yarns are 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, or 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 cooperate 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 embodiment prosthesis includes elastically and plastically deformable structural strands, selectively plastically deformed by cold-working then interbraided to form the prosthesis.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A prosthesis, including:
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an integrated structure including an interbraiding of a plurality of structural strands and a plurality of compliant textile stands, said structural strands cooperating to form a latticework, and said textile strands cooperating to form a textile sheeting integral with and supported by the latticework and occupying interstices between adjacent structural stands of the latticework; wherein said structural strands are formed of a structural material having a tendency to assume a nominal shape when in a relaxed state, and have respective selected nominal strand shapes imparted by a treatment prior to interbraiding; wherein said treatment permanently alters at least one physical characteristic of the structural strands and is selected from the group consisting of; (1) a selective plastic deformation from an original nominal strand shape to the selected strand shape; and (2) a selective thermal setting including a heating of the structural strand to a temperature greater than a melting temperature of the textile strands while the structural strand is maintained in the selected nominal strand shape; wherein the structural strands have selected orientations within the integrated structure to impart a predetermined nominal configuration to the integrated structure; and wherein the textile sheeting fills the voids between adjacent structural strands and essentially prevents leakage of bodily fluids including blood. - 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)
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Specification