Endovascular graft joint and method for manufacture

• US 8,348,989 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Endologix
• Original Assignee: Trivascular Incorporated
• Inventors: Chobotov, Michael V., Stephens, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Koharski, Christopher D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wolf, Megan
• Application Number:
  US11/429,735
• Publication Number:
  US 20060206193A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,437 Days
• Field of Search: 623/1.13, 623/1.49, 623/1.15, 623/1.27, 623/1.3, 623/1.31, 623/1.28
• US Class Current: 623/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/07 Stent-grafts
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/82 Devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents stent-grafts for tubular structures of the body other than blood vessels A61F2/04; stent-grafts for blood vessels A61F2/07; instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts A61F2/95; for closing wounds, or holding wounds closed A61B17/04 - A61B17/115; dilators A61M29/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/072 Encapsulated stents, e.g. wire or whole stent embedded in lining
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/075 the stent being loosely attached to the graft material, e.g. by stitching
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2210/0076 multilayered, e.g. laminated structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0003 having an inflatable pocket filled with fluid, e.g. liquid or gas
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0028 differing in fibre orientations
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 53/44 rotatable about the axis of the article
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/00 Joining or sealing of preformed parts , e.g. welding of plastics materials; Apparatus therefor general aspects of processes or apparatus for joining preformed parts B29C66/00; using porous material formed by internal pressure generated therein for joining preformed parts B29C44/1228, B29C44/326
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/18 using heated tools
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/48 using adhesives , i.e. using supplementary joining material; solvent bonding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/4815 Hot melt adhesives, e.g. thermoplastic adhesives
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/482 Drying adhesives, e.g. solvent based adhesives
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/483 Reactive adhesives, e.g. chemically curing adhesives
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/1122 Single lap to lap joints, i.e. overlap joints B29C66/45, B29C66/472, B29C66/52272 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/12261 the two joint-segments being bevelled, e.g. the two joint-segments forming a V
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/24 said joint lines being closed or non-straight
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/43 Joining a relatively small portion of the surface of said articles B29C66/45 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/4322 by joining a single sheet to itself B29C66/4332 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/438 Joining sheets for making hollow-walled, channelled structures or multi-tubular articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/49 : Internally supporting the, e.g. tubular, article during joining B29C66/63 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/494 : using an inflatable core
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/65 : with a relative motion between the article and the welding tool B29C65/10, B29C65/12 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/71 : characterised by the composition of the plastics material of the parts to be joined welding bar compositions B29C65/125
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/723 : being multi-layered B29C66/7292, B29C66/72941 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/7234 : comprising a barrier layer
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/81422 : being convex
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8161 : said pressing elements being supported or backed-up by springs or by resilient material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/81812 : the welding jaws being cooled from the outside, e.g. by blowing a gas or spraying a liquid
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8221 : Scissor or lever mechanisms, i.e. involving a pivot point
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8222 : Pinion or rack mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/836 : Moving relative to and tangentially to the parts to be joined, e.g. transversely to the displacement of the parts to be joined, e.g. using a X-Y table B29C66/65 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2027/18 : PTFE, i.e. polytetrafluorethene , e.g. ePTFE, i.e. expanded polytetrafluorethene
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2022/02 : Inflatable articles balls B29L2031/54 ; inner tyres B29L2023/245
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2022/022 : Balloons
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/7546 : Surgical equipment
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1002 : with permanent bending or reshaping or surface deformation of self sustaining lamina

Abstract

A joint and method for producing a joint in an endovascular graft. In one embodiment, a flap of a flexible material portion of an endovascular graft is folded about a portion of an expandable member to form a loop portion. The flap is secured in the loop configuration so that tensile force on the expandable member is transferred into a shear force on the fixed portion of the flap.

Claims

1. An endovascular graft or section thereof comprising:

a flexible material portion and a transversely oriented member secured to the flexible material portion with a joint that includes at least one flap formed from a partially removed section of the flexible material portion folded back about the transversely oriented member to form a loop portion there around, the partially removed section creating a void in the flexible material portion, the flap further extending beyond the transversely oriented member and secured to the flexible material portion to form a secured portion thereat, the flexible material portion and the flap having opposed outside and inside surfaces;

an outer layer of flexible material disposed over the outside surfaces of the flap and the flexible material portion, including said void formed in the flexible material portion; and

an inner layer of flexible material disposed over inside surfaces of the flap and the flexible material portion, including said void formed in the flexible material portion.

2. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the flexible material portion of the endovascular graft comprises ePTFE.

3. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the outer layer of flexible material of the endovascular graft comprises ePTFE.

4. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the inner layer of flexible material of the endovascular graft comprises ePTFE.

5. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the flexible material portion further comprises a plurality of layers and the flap is formed of a layer that is secured to itself.

6. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the transversely oriented member comprises a material having high strength relative to the strength of the flexible material portion.

7. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 6 wherein the transversely oriented member comprises nickel titanium.

8. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the flap is secured by bonding with an adhesive to the flexible material portion of the graft or section thereof.

9. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 8 wherein the adhesive is selected from the group comprising FEP and PFA.

10. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the flexible material portion comprises fusible material and the flap is secured by thermomechanical compaction of the flap and a portion of the fusible material in contact with the flap.

11. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 10 wherein the fusible material comprises ePTFE.

12. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 11 wherein the ePTFE has a thickness of about 0.001 to about 0.01 inch.

13. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 11 wherein the ePTFE is sintered.

14. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the flexible material portion further comprises a plurality of layers and the flap is formed of a layer that is secured to another layer.

15. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the at least one flap is about 1 to about 25 square millimeters.

16. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the joint comprises a plurality of flaps of flexible material folded back and secured to form loop portions about the transversely oriented member.

17. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the joint comprises about 2 to about 24 flaps of flexible material folded back and secured to form loop portions about the transversely oriented member.

18. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the transversely oriented member comprises a circumferentially oriented member.

19. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the transversely oriented member comprises a connector member or portion thereof.

20. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the transversely oriented member comprises an expandable stent or portion thereof.

21. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 20 wherein the expandable stent comprises a self-expanding stent.

22. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein the flap of the flexible material portion is configured to transfer tensile force on the transversely oriented member into a shear component of force on the flap and on the flexible material portion.

23. The endovascular graft or section thereof of claim 1 wherein a surface area of the secured portion of the flap is large relative to a surface area of the transversely oriented member.

24. An endovascular graft or section thereof comprising:

a flexible material portion and a transversely oriented member secured to the flexible material portion with a joint that includes at least one flap formed from a partially removed section of the flexible material portion folded back about the transversely oriented member to form a loop portion there around, the partially removed section creating a void in the flexible material portion, the flap further extending beyond the transversely oriented member and secured to the flexible material portion to form a secured portion thereat, the flexible material portion and the flap having opposed outside and inside surfaces;

an outer layer of flexible material disposed over the outside surfaces of the flap and the flexible material portion, including said void formed in the flexible material portion;

an inner layer of flexible material disposed over inside surfaces of the flap and the flexible material portion, including said void formed in the flexible material portion; and

an inflatable channel disposed between the outer layer of flexible material and the inner layer of flexible material at a graft section beyond the flap.

25. An endovascular graft or section thereof comprising:

a flexible material portion having at least two cuts and a transversely oriented member secured to the flexible material portion with a joint that includes at least one flap formed from said flexible material portion having said at least two cuts, wherein said at least one flap is folded back about the transversely oriented member to form a loop portion there around, the folded-back portion of the flap creating a void in the flexible material portion, the flap further extending beyond the transversely oriented member and secured to the flexible material portion to form a secured portion thereat, the flexible material portion and the flap having opposed outside and inside surfaces;

an outer layer of flexible material disposed over the outside surfaces of the flap and the flexible material portion, including said void formed in the flexible material portion; and

an inner layer of flexible material disposed over inside surfaces of the flap and the flexible material portion, including said void formed in the flexible material portion.