Expandable medical device with tapered hinge
First Claim
1. An expandable medical device comprising:
- a plurality of elongated beams, the plurality of elongated beans joined together to form substantially cylindrical elements which are expandable from cylinders having a first diameter to cylinders having a second diameter, the plurality of elongated beams having a beam width in a circumferential direction and wherein adjacent elongated beams form substantially V-shapes when the cylinders are at the second diameter;
a plurality of flexible links interconnecting the substantially cylindrical elements; and
a plurality of hinges connecting the elongated beams and positioned away from apexes of the substantially V-shapes, wherein deformation during expansion is confined substantially to the hinges and the flexible links, wherein the plurality of hinges each have a tapered portion such that an end of each hinge closer to the apex of the substantially V-shapes formed by the adjacent elongated beams has a width which is greater than a width of the hinge at an opposite end, and the tapered portion has a length longer than a non-tapered portion of the hinge.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to the present invention there is provided an expandable medical device having, a plurality of elongated beams, the plurality of elongated beams joined together to form a substantially cylindrical device which is expandable from a cylinder having a first diameter to a cylinder having a second diameter. A plurality of hinges connecting the elongated beams have a hinge width, wherein the hinge width is smaller than the beam width. A pawl is disposed adjacent to and substantially parallel to the hinge prior to expansion of the medical device and a plurality of teeth are adapted to receive the pawl. The present invention additionally provides the benefit of limiting the amount of recoil of an expandable device by engaging a locking mechanism, thereby retaining the expanded diameter of the device.
229 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An expandable medical device comprising:
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a plurality of elongated beams, the plurality of elongated beans joined together to form substantially cylindrical elements which are expandable from cylinders having a first diameter to cylinders having a second diameter, the plurality of elongated beams having a beam width in a circumferential direction and wherein adjacent elongated beams form substantially V-shapes when the cylinders are at the second diameter; a plurality of flexible links interconnecting the substantially cylindrical elements; and a plurality of hinges connecting the elongated beams and positioned away from apexes of the substantially V-shapes, wherein deformation during expansion is confined substantially to the hinges and the flexible links, wherein the plurality of hinges each have a tapered portion such that an end of each hinge closer to the apex of the substantially V-shapes formed by the adjacent elongated beams has a width which is greater than a width of the hinge at an opposite end, and the tapered portion has a length longer than a non-tapered portion of the hinge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An expandable stent comprising:
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a plurality of elongated beams joined together to form a substantially cylindrical elements which are expandable from cylinders having a first diameter to cylinders having a second diameter, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of elongated beams form substantially V-shapes when the cylinders are at the second diameter; a plurality of flexible links interconnecting the substantially cylindrical elements; and a plurality of hinges connecting the elongated beams and positioned away from apexes of the substantially V-shapes, wherein deformation during expansion is confined substantially to the hinges and the flexible links, wherein the plurality of hinges each includes a tapered portion such that an end of each hinge closer to the apex of the substantially V-shapes formed by the adjacent elongated beams has a width which is greater than a width of the hinge at an opposite end, and wherein substantially the entire tapered portion of the hinge deforms during expansion of the cylinder from the first diameter to the second diameter. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification