Three-dimensional braided covered stent
First Claim
1. A prosthesis, including:
- a three-dimensionally braided structure including a plurality of structural strands and a plurality of textile strands interbraided with the structural strands and being more compliant than the structural strands, wherein the structural strands are formed of a structural material and have respective nominal shapes when in a relaxed state under no external stress and are elastically deformable away from their respective nominal shapes, wherein each of the structural strands further is adapted to be altered to acquire a selected nominal shape different from an original nominal shape;
wherein only the structural stands are so altered, and in their respective selected nominal shapes form windings about a longitudinal axis with tubular profiles, and further are oriented within the braided structure to impart to the braided structure a tubular predetermined nominal shape corresponding to said tubular profiles;
wherein each of the structural strands is adapted to be so altered according to a selective thermal setting including heating at least to a heat set temperature while maintaining the structural strand in the selected nominal shape, and the structural strands are susceptible to said selective thermal setting only when heated at least to a heat set temperature; and
wherein the textile strands have a melting temperature and tend to conform to the predetermined nominal shape imparted by the structural strands, and the heat set temperature is higher than the melting temperature.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A prosthesis for transluminal implantation consists of a flexible tubular three-dimensionally braided structure of metal or polymeric monofilaments, and polymeric multifilament yarns. The prosthesis can be elastically deformed to reduce its diameter through axial elongation. The monofilaments and multifilament yarns are arranged in axially spaced apart helices, concentric on a common central axis of the prosthesis. The monofilaments are selectively shaped before their interbraiding with the multifilament yarns, either by an age-hardening or other heat-setting stage, or a cold-working stage that controllably plastically deforms the strands. The shaped structural strands cooperate to impart to the prosthesis its nominal shape and resilience. The textile strands cooperate to provide one or more layers of sheeting that reduce permeability and thereby enhance the utility of the prosthesis as a vascular graft. An alternative embodiment prosthesis includes elastically and plastically deformable structural strands, selectively plastically deformed by cold working, then three-dimensionally braided to form the prosthesis.
147 Citations
57 Claims
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1. A prosthesis, including:
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a three-dimensionally braided structure including a plurality of structural strands and a plurality of textile strands interbraided with the structural strands and being more compliant than the structural strands, wherein the structural strands are formed of a structural material and have respective nominal shapes when in a relaxed state under no external stress and are elastically deformable away from their respective nominal shapes, wherein each of the structural strands further is adapted to be altered to acquire a selected nominal shape different from an original nominal shape; wherein only the structural stands are so altered, and in their respective selected nominal shapes form windings about a longitudinal axis with tubular profiles, and further are oriented within the braided structure to impart to the braided structure a tubular predetermined nominal shape corresponding to said tubular profiles; wherein each of the structural strands is adapted to be so altered according to a selective thermal setting including heating at least to a heat set temperature while maintaining the structural strand in the selected nominal shape, and the structural strands are susceptible to said selective thermal setting only when heated at least to a heat set temperature; and wherein the textile strands have a melting temperature and tend to conform to the predetermined nominal shape imparted by the structural strands, and the heat set temperature is higher than the melting temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A prosthesis, including:
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a three-dimensionally braided structure including a plurality of resilient structural strands formed of a structural material and a plurality of compliant textile strands interbraided with the structural strands and being more compliant than the structural strands; wherein each of the structural strands has a nominal shape when in a relaxed state under no external stress, and further is adapted to be thermally altered to acquire a selected nominal shape different from an original nominal shape by a heating of the structural strand at least to a thermal forming temperature while maintaining the structural strand in the selected nominal shape, wherein the structural strands are thermally formable only when heated at least to the thermal forming temperature; wherein only the structural strands are so altered, and in their respective selected nominal shapes form windings about a longitudinal axis having tubular profiles, and are oriented within the braided structure to impart to the braided structure a tubular predetermined nominal shape corresponding to said tubular profiles; and wherein the textile strands have a textile strand melting temperature and tend to conform to the predetermined nominal shape imparted by the structural strands, and the thermal forming temperature is higher than the textile strand melting temperature. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A prosthesis, including:
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a three-dimensionally braided structure including a plurality of structural strands and a plurality of textile strands interbraided with the structural strands and being more compliant than the structural strands, wherein the structural strands are formed of a structural material and have respective nominal shapes when in a relaxed state under no external stress and are elastically deformable away from their respective nominal shapes, wherein each of the structural strands further is adapted to be altered to acquire a selected nominal shape different from an original nominal shape; wherein only the structural stands are so altered, and in their respective selected nominal shapes form windings about a longitudinal axis with tubular profiles, and further are oriented within the braided structure to impart to the braided structure a tubular predetermined nominal shape corresponding to said tubular profiles; wherein each of the structural strands is adapted to be so altered according to a selective thermal setting including heating at least to a heat set temperature while maintaining the structural strand in the selected nominal shape, and the structural strands are susceptible to said selective thermal setting only when heated at least to the heat set temperature; and wherein the textile strands have a melting temperature, and the heat set temperature is higher than said melting temperature. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A prosthesis, including:
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a three-dimensionally braided structure including a plurality of structural strands and a plurality of textile strands interbraided with the structural strands and being more compliant than the structural strands, wherein the structural strands are formed of a recovery metal and have respective nominal shapes when in a relaxed state under no external stress and are elastically deformable away from their respective nominal shapes, wherein each of the structural strands further is adapted to be altered to acquire a selected nominal shape, different from an original nominal shape, to which the structural strand tends to return when heated at least to an activation temperature of the recovery metal; wherein only the structural stands are so altered, and in their respective selected nominal shapes form windings about a longitudinal axis with tubular profiles, and further are oriented within the braided structure to impart to the braided structure a tubular predetermined nominal shape corresponding to said tubular profiles; and wherein the textile strands tend to conform to the predetermined nominal shape imparted by the structural strands. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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Specification