Axially nested slide and lock expandable device
First Claim
1. An axially nested stent being expandable from an axially nested unexpanded state to an expanded state, the stent comprising a tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the tubular member comprising:
- a plurality of linkage sections comprising engagement apertures, the engagement apertures being disposed through the linkage sections in a circumferential direction; and
at least one interconnector module comprising an interlink body and longitudinally spaced interconnection members,each interlink body having a generally curved shape and extending in a longitudinal direction,the longitudinally spaced interconnection members alternatingly extending from each interlink body in opposing circumferential directions, the interconnection members passing through the engagement apertures of the linkage sections,the at least one interconnector module being configured to allow one-way slidable movement of the linkage sections relative to at least one interlink body during expansion of the stent from the axially nested unexpanded state to the expanded state.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The inventions relate generally to expandable medical implants for maintaining support of a body lumen and, in particular, to an axially nested, diametrically expandable, slide and lock vascular device for enlarging an occluded portion of a vessel. The axially nested vascular device desirably achieves both competitive crossing profiles while maintaining other key features, such as, for example, radial strength and luminal patency. The collapsed profile can also be made very thin without compromising radial strength. Thus, the vascular device can advantageously be deployed in small and difficult to reach areas or vessels. The axial nesting substantially eliminates radial overlap between mating structural elements thereby desirably allowing for a low, uniform profile.
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Citations
58 Claims
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1. An axially nested stent being expandable from an axially nested unexpanded state to an expanded state, the stent comprising a tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the tubular member comprising:
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a plurality of linkage sections comprising engagement apertures, the engagement apertures being disposed through the linkage sections in a circumferential direction; and at least one interconnector module comprising an interlink body and longitudinally spaced interconnection members, each interlink body having a generally curved shape and extending in a longitudinal direction, the longitudinally spaced interconnection members alternatingly extending from each interlink body in opposing circumferential directions, the interconnection members passing through the engagement apertures of the linkage sections, the at least one interconnector module being configured to allow one-way slidable movement of the linkage sections relative to at least one interlink body during expansion of the stent from the axially nested unexpanded state to the expanded state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A stent comprising:
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a plurality of linkage sections each comprising one or more engagement apertures, the one or more engagement apertures being disposed through the respective linkage sections in a circumferential direction; and at least one interconnector module comprising; an interlink body extending in a longitudinal direction, and longitudinally spaced interconnection members that alternatingly extend from the interlink body in opposing circumferential directions, one of the interconnection members extending from a central crest of the interlink body and a pair of the interconnection members extending from respective end troughs of the interlink body, each of the interconnection members comprising an end that is at least partially received into a respective one of the one or more engagement apertures; the at least one interconnector module being configured to allow one-way slidable movement of the linkage sections relative to each interlink body of the at least one interconnector module during expansion of the stent from an axially nested unexpanded state to an expanded state. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An axially nested stent being expandable from an axially nested unexpanded state to an expanded state, the stent comprising a tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the tubular member comprising:
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a plurality of linkage sections comprising a plurality of linkage elements each having at least one engagement aperture, each of the at least one engagement apertures being disposed through the respective linkage elements in a circumferential direction; a flexible section extending intermediate longitudinally adjacent linkage elements; and a plurality of interconnector modules arranged in a generally longitudinal alignment, each of the interconnector modules comprising; an interlink body, and a plurality of interconnection members extending from the interlink body in opposing circumferential directions; each of the interconnection members being configured to engage the at least one engagement aperture of a respective one of the linkage elements, each of the plurality of interconnector modules being configured to move independently relative to an adjacent one of the plurality of interconnector modules to allow one-way slidable movement of the linkage sections relative to the interlink bodies during expansion of the stent from the axially nested unexpanded state to the expanded state. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A stent comprising:
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a plurality of linkage sections each comprising at least one engagement aperture, the at least one engagement aperture being disposed through the respective linkage sections in a circumferential direction; and a plurality of interconnector modules aligned in a longitudinal direction, each of the plurality of interconnector modules; being spaced longitudinally from another, longitudinally adjacent, interconnection module of the plurality of interconnector modules, and comprising an interlink body extending in a longitudinal direction and longitudinally spaced interconnection members extending from the interlink body in opposing circumferential directions, the interconnection members of each respective one of the plurality of interconnector modules being received by a respective one of the at least one engagement apertures of the linkage sections to allow each of the interconnector modules to move independently relative to adjacent ones of the interconnector modules, thereby allowing the stent to define a variable diameter. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An axially nested stent being expandable from an axially nested unexpanded state to an expanded state, the stent comprising a tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the tubular member comprising:
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a plurality of linkage sections comprising; a plurality of longitudinally extending link elements defining proximal and distal ends; a flexible section extending along the longitudinal axis intermediate the proximal end of a given link element and the distal end of another given link element to interconnect the plurality of link elements in an end-to-end manner; and at least one engagement aperture disposed in at least one link element of the linkage sections, the at least one engagement aperture being disposed through the at least one link element in a circumferential direction; and at least two interconnector modules extending in the circumferential direction, each of the at least two interconnector modules being engagable with a corresponding at least one engagement aperture of the linkage sections, each of the at least two interconnector modules comprising; an interlink body, and a plurality of interconnection members each having a free end; each interlink body comprising a first side and a second side, the interconnection members extending from the first side and the second side of each interlink body, the first side of each interlink body having a number of interconnection members extending therefrom that is different from a number of interconnection members extending from the second side of each interlink body, the interconnection members of the first and second sides of each interlink body being spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction, the at least two interconnector modules being configured to allow one-way slidable movement of the linkage sections relative to each interlink body during expansion of the stent from the axially nested unexpanded state to the expanded state; wherein at least first, second, and third linkage sections are circumferentially spaced apart from each other to form the tubular member, wherein the tubular member comprises respective interconnector modules being at least partially circumferentially interposed between respective circumferentially adjacent linkage sections. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification