Surgical stent featuring radiopaque markers
First Claim
1. A radiopaque radially expandable stent for surgical implantation into a body lumen, such as an artery, said stent having a generally cylindrical contour both before and after expansion thereof, said stent further comprising in combination:
- a stent frame having a first stent end and a second stent end opposite said first stent end;
at least two marker members each being homogeneous and having a preformed size and shape corresponding to an associated portion of the stent frame before being attached thereto, including a first marker member and a second marker member, each marker member formed from a material which is radiopaque having a radiopacity than the stent frame; and
said first marker member being attached directly to said stent frame at said first stent end and said second marker member attached directly to said stent frame at said second stent end, said first and second marker members extending at least partially beyond said first and second stent ends and being attached at least at two circumferentially spaced apart locations about respective ones of said first and second stent ends, whereby the maximum extent of the stent frame can be viewed with a fluoroscope.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Radiopaque marker elements for attachment to ends of a radially expandable surgical stent are disclosed. Each radiopaque marker element is homogeneously formed from a radiopaque material and attached through an attachment means to ends of the stent. The radiopaque marker elements enhance the visibility of the stent when the stent is viewed with a medical imaging device, such as a fluoroscope. The marker elements extend beyond ends of the stent. The marker elements are attached to the stent before radial expansion and are configured to radially expand along with the stent during surgical implantation thereof within a body lumen, such as an artery. The radiopaque marker elements can either be attached to an unmodified radially expandable surgical stent or to a prepped stent which includes receivers at ends of the stent particularly configured to attach to the radiopaque marker elements. The radiopaque marker elements include tabs which match a contour of the receivers so that secure attachment of the radiopaque marker elements to the receivers at the ends of the stent is provided.
436 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A radiopaque radially expandable stent for surgical implantation into a body lumen, such as an artery, said stent having a generally cylindrical contour both before and after expansion thereof, said stent further comprising in combination:
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a stent frame having a first stent end and a second stent end opposite said first stent end;
at least two marker members each being homogeneous and having a preformed size and shape corresponding to an associated portion of the stent frame before being attached thereto, including a first marker member and a second marker member, each marker member formed from a material which is radiopaque having a radiopacity than the stent frame; and
said first marker member being attached directly to said stent frame at said first stent end and said second marker member attached directly to said stent frame at said second stent end, said first and second marker members extending at least partially beyond said first and second stent ends and being attached at least at two circumferentially spaced apart locations about respective ones of said first and second stent ends, whereby the maximum extent of the stent frame can be viewed with a fluoroscope. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 19, 20)
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5. A radiopaque marker member for a generally cylindrical, radially expandable surgical stent frame configured to be implanted into a body lumen, the stent frame having a central axis, a radius, a first generally circular end and a second generally circular end opposite the first generally circular end, said radiopaque marker comprising in combination:
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at least one marker member being homogeneous and having a preformed size and shape corresponding to an associated portion of the stent frame before being attached thereto, said circumferential marker member formed of a marker material which has a greater radiopacity than a stent material forming other portions of the stent frame;
said circumferential marker member being generally circular and having a substantially constant radius from an axial center of said circumferential marker element and being substantially equal to the radius of the stent frame; and
means to attach said circumferential marker member to one of the ends of the stent frame such that said axial center located upon the central axis of the stent frame, whereby the maximum extent of the stent frame can be viewed with a fluoroscope. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A radially expandable surgical stent featuring separate radiopaque marker members joined thereto, said stent further comprising in combination:
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a stent frame having a first end and a second end opposite said first end and connected to said first end by a plurality of stent elements arranged in a generally cylindrical form together forming said stent frame, said stent elements being radially expandable from a first diameter to a second diameter;
at least one marker member being homogeneous and having a preformed size and shape corresponding to an associated portion of the stent frame before being attached thereto, said marker member formed from a material which is radiopaque; and
a means joining said marker member directly to said stent frame at one of said ends of said stent such that said marker member extends at least partially beyond said stent end and is joined at least at two circumferentially spaced apart locations about said stent end, whereby the maximum extent of the stent frame at said stent end can be viewed with a fluoroscope. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification