Stents for blood vessels
First Claim
1. A stent for insertion into a vessel, which stent includes a supporting portion around which part of an intact vessel other than a graft can be placed, so that the stent internally supports an interior wall of that vessel part, wherein the supporting portion comprises a hollow tube, the walls of which have openings therein so that when the stent is inserted in a vessel the interior wall of the vessel is exposed via said openings to fluid flow along the vessel, and wherein the supporting portion of the stent, when in the vessel, has a non-planar, at least partially helical shape wherein a central axis of the hollow tube forms a non-planar three-dimensional at least partially helical shape and the hollow tube is capable of imposing said three-dimensional at least partially helical shape on a central axis of the vessel, whereby fluid flow within the stent supported part of the vessel follows the three-dimensional at least partially helical shape to induce swirl flow.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A stent for supporting part of a blood vessel includes a supporting portion around which or within which part of an intact blood vessel, other than a graft, can be placed so that the stent internally or externally supports that part of the blood vessel. The supporting portion of the stent is of a shape and/or orientation whereby flow within the vessel is caused to follow a non-planar curve. By maintaining a non-planar curvature in the vessel itself, favorable blood flow velocity patterns can be achieved through the generation in the vessel of a swirl flow. Failures in such vessels through diseases such as thrombosis, atherosclerosis, intimal hyperplasia or through blockage, kinking or collapse, can be significantly reduced.
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Citations
18 Claims
- 1. A stent for insertion into a vessel, which stent includes a supporting portion around which part of an intact vessel other than a graft can be placed, so that the stent internally supports an interior wall of that vessel part, wherein the supporting portion comprises a hollow tube, the walls of which have openings therein so that when the stent is inserted in a vessel the interior wall of the vessel is exposed via said openings to fluid flow along the vessel, and wherein the supporting portion of the stent, when in the vessel, has a non-planar, at least partially helical shape wherein a central axis of the hollow tube forms a non-planar three-dimensional at least partially helical shape and the hollow tube is capable of imposing said three-dimensional at least partially helical shape on a central axis of the vessel, whereby fluid flow within the stent supported part of the vessel follows the three-dimensional at least partially helical shape to induce swirl flow.
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13. A stent for insertion into a vessel, comprising:
a pre-shaped flexible supporting portion which supports an interior wall of the vessel and is capable of imposing a shape thereon, comprising; a hollow tube including a wall, a plurality of openings located in the wall of the tube so that the interior wall of the vessel is exposed, via said openings, to fluid flow along the vessel, and wherein the hollow tube is pre-shaped so as to have an at least partially helical shape, wherein a central axis of the hollow tube forms a non-planar three-dimensional at least partially helical shape and the hollow tube is capable of imposing said three-dimensional at least partially helical shape on a central axis of the vessel, so that a swirling fluid flow is induced within the vessel. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A stent for insertion into a blocked, constricted or otherwise flow restricted vessel, comprising:
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a hollow tube which is capable of supporting an interior wall of the vessel; a plurality of openings located in the wall of the tube so that the interior wall of the vessel is exposed, via said openings, to fluid flow along the vessel; and
,wherein said hollow tube is pre-shaped so as to have an at least partially helical shape, and wherein a central axis of the hollow tube forms a non-planar three-dimensional at least partially helical shape and the hollow tube is capable of imposing said three-dimensional at least partially helical shape on a central axis of the vessel so that a swirling fluid flow is induced within the vessel. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A stent for insertion into a blocked, constricted or otherwise flow restricted vessel, comprising:
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a hollow tube, including a plurality of openings located in a wall thereof such that an interior wall of the vessel is capable of being exposed to fluid flow along the vessel when the hollow tube is inserted into the vessel, wherein the hollow tube is capable of supporting the interior wall of the vessel; and
,wherein said hollow tube is pre-shaped so as to have an at least partially helical shape, and wherein a central axis of the hollow tube forms a non-planar three-dimensional at least partially helical shape and the hollow tube is capable of imposing said three-dimensional at least partially helical shape on a central axis of the vessel so that a swirling fluid flow is induced within the vessel. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification