Transplantation device

• US 6,273,917 B1
• Filed: 11/18/1999
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kanji Inoue
• Original Assignee: Kanji Inoue
• Inventors: Inoue, Kanji
• Primary Examiner(s): Willse, David H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GHERBI, SUZETTE JAIME J
• Application Number:
  US09/424,036
• Time in Patent Office: 635 Days
• Field of Search: 623/1.15, 623/23-4-, 623/1.36
• US Class Current: 623/23.64
• 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 2/954 for placing stents or stent-grafts in a bifurcation
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/065 Y-shaped blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/075 the stent being loosely attached to the graft material, e.g. by stitching
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9505 having retaining means other than an outer sleeve, e.g. male-female connector between stent and instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/9511 the retaining means being filaments or wires

Abstract

A front end wire ring 10₁, and a rear end wire ring 10₂ are arranged facing each other, and a tubular cover 7 connects the front and rear end wire rings 10₁ and 10₂, and an intermediate wire ring 12 is arranged between the front and rear end wire rings 10₁ and 10₂, wherein each of the wire rings 10₁, 10₂ and 12 is given flexibly foldable elasticity.

The front and rear end wire rings 10₁ and 10₂ and at least the intermediate wire rings 12 arranged adjacent to the front and rear end wire rings 10₁ and 10₂ is connected with the cover 7 through a film member 30 so that the wire rings 10₁, 10₂ and 12 can make a back and forth movement relative to the cover 7 within a certain range and that an annular gap formed between the wire rings 10₁, 10₂ and 12 and the cover 7 is liquid-tightly sealed.

Claims

1. An appliance to be implanted comprising a front end wire ring, a rear end wire ring-arranged facing to the front end wire ring, a tubular cover which connects the front and rear end wire rings, and an intermediate wire ring arranged between the front and rear end wire rings, in which each of the wire rings is given flexibly foldable elasticity, and

characterized by that the appliance to be implanted has an arrangement in which each of the front and rear end wire rings and at least the intermediate wire rings arranged adjacent to the front and rear end wire rings is connected with the cover through a film member so that each of the wire rings can make a back and forth movement relative to the cover within a certain range and that an annular gap formed between each of the wire rings and the cover is liquid-tightly sealed.

2. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 and characterized by that said film member is bag-shaped in which whole of each wire rings is wrapped and that one end of said film member is attached to the cover almost to surround the outer circumference thereof so as to allow each of the wire rings to make a back and forth movement by making use of transformation of the film member.

3. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 and characterized by that said film member is annular and each of the wire rings is attached along almost all of an outer circumferential end of the film member and an inner circumferential end of the film member is attached along almost all of the outer circumference of the cover so as to allow each of the wire rings to make a back and forth movement by making use of transformation of the film member.

4. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 and characterized by that said film member has a long and narrow space therein along the direction of back and forth in which each of the wire rings is wrapped so as to allow each of the wire rings to make a back and forth movement inside the space relative to the cover.

5. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 2 and characterized by that said film member has a wavy shape undulating along the direction of the circumference thereof and to a direction almost corresponding with a direction to which the wire rings are folded.

6. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 and characterized by that said intermediate wire ring is wrapped in a mesh member, which is attached along almost all of an outer circumference of the cover.

7. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1, and characterized by that an expanding element is filled in a space between said film member and each of the wire rings.

8. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 7 and characterized by that said expanding element is a fiber which surrounds an outer circumference of a wire which mainly constitutes said wire rings.

9. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 7 and characterized by that said expanding element is a powder which is filled in a space between said film member and said wire rings.

10. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 7, 8 or 9 and characterized by that said expanding element is super absorbing processed polymer which expands itself when absorbing liquid.

11. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 and characterized by that an auxiliary wire ring is attached to the cover at a position almost corresponding to a position each of the wire ring is attached to the cover.

12. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 11 and characterized by that the circumference of said auxiliary wire ring is divided into four or an even number over four, hooking means are formed for a front pull string to be passed through at every other dividing point, said auxiliary wire ring is folded into a wavy shape with the dividing points each of which is provided with a hooking means forming forwardly directed peaks and the other dividing points forming the bottoms of forwardly directed valleys, each of the other wire rings is folded into a wavy shape having the same phase as that of the auxiliary wire ring and the whole appliance to be implanted is inserted into a catheter.

13. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 and characterized by that the circumference of the front end of said cover is divided into four or an even number over four and that hooking means are formed for a front pull string to be passed through at every other dividing point, said front end of the cover is folded into a wavy shape with the dividing points each of which is provided with a hooking means forming forwardly directed peaks and the other dividing points forming the bottoms of forwardly directed valleys, each of the front and rear end wire rings and the intermediate wire rings are folded into a wavy shape having the same phase as that of the front of the cover and the whole appliance to be implanted is inserted into a catheter.

14. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 1 and characterized by that said appliance to be implanted is an artificial blood vessel.

15. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 4 and characterized by that said film member has a wavy shape undulating along the direction of the circumference thereof and to a direction almost corresponding with a direction to which the wire rings are folded.

16. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 2 and characterized by that an expanding element is filled in a space between said film member and each of the wire rings.

17. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 3 and characterized by that an expanding element is filled in a space between said film member and each of the wire rings.

18. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 4 and characterized by that an expanding element is filled in a space between said film member and each of the wire rings.

19. The appliance to be implanted, described in claim 5 and characterized by that an expanding element is filled in a space between said film member and each of the wire rings.