Cannula stent
First Claim
1. A cannula stent comprising:
- a cannula having a passageway extending longitudinally therein and a wall of biocompatible material extending at least partially around said passageway, said wall having a plurality of struts extending longitudinally therein and a plurality of elongated openings therethrough, said openings extending at least partially between said plurality of struts, at least first, second, and third ones of said struts being adjacent and having respective ends laterally interconnected at a strut interconnection, a first opening of said openings extending between the first and the second struts and having a first opening end longitudinally adjacent the strut interconnection between the first and the second struts, a second opening of said openings extending between the second and the third struts and having a second opening end longitudinally adjacent the strut interconnection between the second and the third struts, wherein the first strut has a selected width that increases along the first strut toward the first opening end and wherein the second strut has a selected width that decreases along the second strut toward the strut interconnection.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A stent (30) formed from cannula and having flexible segments (31) and high hoop strength segments (32) alternating therealong. Longitudinal struts or tie bars (41) interconnect the segments. Minimal length reduction of the strut occurs upon expansion. In the high hoop strength segment (32), struts (37) in a zig-zag configuration (Gianturco Z-stent) are initially parallel in the unexpanded strut condition. In the flexible segment (31), struts (58) extend from a respective C-shaped bend (59) to converge at the opposite ends thereof when unexpanded. In one embodiment, certain adjacent struts (39–41) of the hoop segment are spaced apart by elongated openings or gaps (46, 48) interposed therebetween and interconnected at their respective ends (42, 44) to form a T-shaped strut interconnection (45). The selected width (50, 51) of the first and third struts (54, 57) increases toward the ends (47, 48) of the elongated openings (46, 48) adjacent the strut interconnection (45). This strut width increase about one end of the strut significantly reduces the tensile strain exhibited about the opening end when the stent is radially expanded during manufacture. The tip length (52, 55) of the struts about the interconnection (45) is also adjusted (increased) along with the other C-shaped strut interconnections (59, 71) to further distribute the tensile strain developed during radial expansion.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A cannula stent comprising:
a cannula having a passageway extending longitudinally therein and a wall of biocompatible material extending at least partially around said passageway, said wall having a plurality of struts extending longitudinally therein and a plurality of elongated openings therethrough, said openings extending at least partially between said plurality of struts, at least first, second, and third ones of said struts being adjacent and having respective ends laterally interconnected at a strut interconnection, a first opening of said openings extending between the first and the second struts and having a first opening end longitudinally adjacent the strut interconnection between the first and the second struts, a second opening of said openings extending between the second and the third struts and having a second opening end longitudinally adjacent the strut interconnection between the second and the third struts, wherein the first strut has a selected width that increases along the first strut toward the first opening end and wherein the second strut has a selected width that decreases along the second strut toward the strut interconnection. - 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, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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28. A cannula stent comprising:
a cannula having a passageway extending longitudinally therein end a wall of biocompatible material extending at least partially around said passageway, said wall having a plurality of struts extending longitudinally therein and a plurality of elongated openings therethrough, said openings extending at least partially between said plurality of struts, at least first, second, and third ones of said struts being adjacent and having respective ends laterally interconnected at a strut interconnection, a first opening of said openings extending between the first and the second struts and having a first opening end longitudinally adjacent the strut interconnection between the first and the second struts, a second opening of said openings extending between the second and the third struts and having a second opening end longitudinally adjacent the strut interconnection between the second and the third struts, wherein the first and the second openings are equivalent in shape and at least partially elliptical and the first and the second opening ends are positioned at the same axial position along the elongated member, wherein the first strut has a width that increases along the first strut toward the first opening end and wherein the second strut has a selected width that decreases along the second strut toward the strut interconnection.
Specification