Balloon-assisted intraluminal stent graft
First Claim
1. An intraluminal device for insertion into a patient'"'"'s vessel, said device comprising:
- a conformable ePTFE tube having a predetermined diameter and length and capable of being radially expanded up to a diameter of said vessel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An intraluminal device such as a stent graft is formed of a conformable ePTFE tube and preferably a compressed self-expanding stent affixed to the tube. The conformable tube is made by a special process which insures that the tube is radially deformable up to a predetermined diameter without exceeding the plastic deformation limit of the tube. The stent has a relaxed diameter larger than the diameter of the expanded tube after insertion so that the tube is biased to a cylindrical shape. The process for making the tube involves progressively dilating a small diameter extruded tube until a desired diameter is achieved. The tube is then contracted on a small diameter mandrel by heating.
170 Citations
28 Claims
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1. An intraluminal device for insertion into a patient'"'"'s vessel, said device comprising:
a conformable ePTFE tube having a predetermined diameter and length and capable of being radially expanded up to a diameter of said vessel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. An intraluminal device for insertion into a patient'"'"'s vessel and comprising:
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a comfortable ePTFE tube adapted to be radially expandable when an expansion force is applied; and
a compressed self-expandable stent affixed to said tube, said stent generating a radial force on said tube which is smaller than said expansion force. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. An intraluminal device comprising:
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an outer conformable ePTFE tube expandable in response to an expansion force;
inner conformable ePTFE tube, positioned concentrically within the outer tube;
a self-expanding stent confined between the inner and outer tubes wherein the inner and outer tubes are adhered to each other. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method of producing an intraluminal device comprising:
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providing a conformable ePTFE tube capable of being expanded to a predetermined diameter without exceeding its plastic deformation limit;
providing a self-expanding stent; and
affixing said stent to said tube;
wherein the radial force required to expand said tube is greater than the radial force of the compressed stent member. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of producing an intraluminal device comprising:
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providing an outer conformable ePTFE tube;
positioning at least one, self-expanding stent within said outer tube;
providing an inner radially conformable ePTFE tube;
positioning said inner tube concentrically inside said outer tube and said compressed stent; and
adhering said inner and outer tubes to each other. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of producing a conformable ePTFE tube adapted for use as an intraluminal device by inserting said tube into a patient'"'"'s vessel and expanding said conformable ePTFE tube radially to conform to a diameter of said vessel, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing an initial ePTFE tube of a first diameter;
dilating said initial tube radially to form a dilated tube having a second diameter; and
contracting said dilated tube to form said conformable tube having a third diameter, said conformable tube being radially expandable up to said second diameter without exceeding the plastic expansion limit of said final tube. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
extruding ePTFE material into an extruded tube; and
stretching said extruded tube longitudinally.
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25. The method of claim 23 wherein said dilated tube is produced by expanding said initial tube incrementally, and calendering said tube between each expansion until said second diameter is reached.
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26. The method of claim 23 wherein said dilated tube is contracted by inserting a mandrel into said dilated tube and sintering said dilated tube at a predetermined temperature.
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27. The method of claim 26 wherein said mandrel has a mandrel diameter equal to said third diameter.
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28. The method of claim 23 wherein said first diameter is in the range 1-10 mm, said second diameter is in the range of 4-30 mm and said third diameter is larger than 4 mm.
Specification