Self-expanding endoprosthesis
First Claim
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1. A luminal endoprosthesis, adapted for introduction into an anatomical conduit of an organism, comprising:
- a self-expandable braided framework of filaments, radially expandable to a nominal diameter, said filaments including a temperature transitionable material;
said temperature transitionable material of said framework being adapted to experience a phase transition in which a rigidity of said transitionable material changes from a first rigidity to a second rigidity, greater than said first rigidity, at a temperature equal to or lower than a temperature of said organism; and
said framework being compressible to a reduced diameter for introduction into said anatomical conduit of said organism, and upon release of compression, said framework being adapted to spontaneously adopt said nominal diameter independent of a temperature surrounding said framework and said phase transition.
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Abstract
A luminal endoprosthesis comprising a framework made up of braided filaments. The framework is self-expanding, that is to say that after it has been radially compressed for positioning of the endoprosthesis, it automatically recovers its nominal diameter. The metal of the framework has undergone a thermal treatment bringing about a state transition, at a temperature close to that of the organism, and this confers upon it a suitable rigidity after it has been positioned in an anatomical conduit.
201 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A luminal endoprosthesis, adapted for introduction into an anatomical conduit of an organism, comprising:
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a self-expandable braided framework of filaments, radially expandable to a nominal diameter, said filaments including a temperature transitionable material; said temperature transitionable material of said framework being adapted to experience a phase transition in which a rigidity of said transitionable material changes from a first rigidity to a second rigidity, greater than said first rigidity, at a temperature equal to or lower than a temperature of said organism; and said framework being compressible to a reduced diameter for introduction into said anatomical conduit of said organism, and upon release of compression, said framework being adapted to spontaneously adopt said nominal diameter independent of a temperature surrounding said framework and said phase transition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of placing a self-expanding endoprosthesis in an anatomical conduit of an organism, said endoprosthesis being radially expandable to a nominal diameter and including a temperature transitionable material, said method comprising the steps of:
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placing said endoprosthesis in an environment having a temperature at or below a transition temperature at which said endoprosthesis experiences a phase transition in which a rigidity of said transitionable material changes from a first rigidity to a second rigidity, greater than said first rigidity, said transition temperature being a temperature equal to or lower than a temperature of said organism; compressing said endoprosthesis to reduce a diameter of said endoprosthesis from said nominal diameter to a reduced diameter for introduction into said anatomical conduit of said organism; introducing said compressed endoprosthesis into said anatomical conduit; and releasing compression from said endoprosthesis to enable said endoprosthesis to spontaneously adopt said nominal diameter independent of a temperature surrounding said endoprosthesis and said phase transition. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A luminal endoprosthesis, adapted for introduction into an anatomical conduit of an organism, comprising:
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a self-expandable framework, radially expandable to a nominal diameter and including a temperature transitionable material; said temperature transitionable material of said framework being adapted to experience a phase transition in which a rigidity of said transitionable material changes from a first rigidity to a second rigidity, greater than said first rigidity, at a transition temperature within a predefined temperature range; and said framework being compressible to a reduced diameter for introduction into said anatomical conduit of said organism, and upon release of compression, said framework being adapted to spontaneously adopt said nominal diameter independent of a temperature surrounding said framework and said phase transition. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification