Helically formed stent/graft assembly

• US 6,364,904 B1
• Filed: 07/02/1999
• Issued: 04/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Scimed Life Systems Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Smith, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Isabella, David J.
• Application Number:
  US09/345,026
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: 623/1, 623/2, 623/11, 623/12, 623/1.1, 623/1.13, 623/1.15, 623/1.22
• US Class Current: 623/1.22
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/07 Stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/88 the wire-like elements formed as helical or spiral coils forming a net-like or mesh-like structure A61F2/90
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/072 Encapsulated stents, e.g. wire or whole stent embedded in lining
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/075 the stent being loosely attached to the graft material, e.g. by stitching
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0058 soldered or brazed or welded
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0075 sutured, ligatured or stitched, retained or tied with a rope, string, thread, wire or cable

Abstract

The present invention relates to a support structure/membrane composite device which includes a support structure, such as a radially expandable stent, a porous non-textile polymeric membrane adjacent to said stent and a thermoplastic anchor means attaching said stent to said porous non-textile polymeric membrane. The porous non-textile polymeric membrane is preferably made from expandable fluoropolymer materials. The anchoring means is a thermoplastic material which is dissolvable at the interface between the support structure and membrane by a suitable solvent which wets the membrane surface and deposits the thermoplastic material within the pores of the membrane. Methods of preparing the device are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A stent/graft composite device formed from a flat preformed planar strip and wire assembly comprising:

an elongate preformed non-textile planar strip of polymeric graft material having first and second opposed surfaces and an elongate stent wire attached onto one of said opposed flat surfaces of said strip to form said flat strip assembly, said strip assembly being helically wound into a continuous tubular structure.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein successive helical windings creates an overlap defining a seam between an exterior surface of a first helical wind and a luminal surface of a subsequent helical wind.

3. The device of claim 1 further comprising a second elongate preformed planar strip of graft material, wherein said wire stent is positioned between the two planar graft strips.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said planar graft strips are laminated together to form said strip assembly.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said planar graft strips further include multiple layers of graft material on each side of said stent wire.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein said polymeric graft material is selected from the group consisting of fluoropolymers, polyurethanes, silicones and mixtures thereof.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein said polymeric graft material comprises ePTFE.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein said tubular structure has a generally circular cross-section.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein said stent wire has a series of bends forming undulations along its length.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein said undulations have flexibility capable of providing a radially adjustable tubular stent/graft apparatus.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein said stent wire is comprised of nitinol.

12. A covered stent assembly formed from a flat planar strip and wire assembly comprising a length of a planar preformed non-textile cover strip of polymeric graft material having first and second opposed flat surfaces and a length of wire attached onto one of said opposed flat surfaces along the length of said strip to form said flat planar strip and wire assembly, said strip and wire assembly being helically wound forming windings and further forming a continuous tubular structure.

13. The covered stent assembly of claim 12 wherein said strip and wire assembly is helically wound having at least two consecutive windings overlap.

14. The covered stent assembly of claim 13 wherein adjacent windings form a continuous tubular and substantially fluid tight conduit.

15. The covered stent assembly of claim 12 wherein consecutive windings do not overlap.