Durable high strength polymer composites suitable for implant and articles produced therefrom
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A valve, comprising:
- a support structure, andat least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, wherein a diameter of a majority of the fibers is less than about 1 μ
m, the space between the fibers defining pores, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the elastomer is a TFE/PMVE copolymer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Thin, biocompatible, high-strength, composite materials are disclosed that are suitable for use in a valve for regulating blood flow direction. In one aspect, the composite material maintains flexibility in high-cycle flexural applications, making it particularly applicable to high-flex implants such as a prosthetic heart valve leaflet. The composite material includes a porous polymer membrane and an elastomer, wherein the elastomer fills substantially all of the pores of the porous polymer membrane.
107 Citations
89 Claims
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1. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, wherein a diameter of a majority of the fibers is less than about 1 μ
m, the space between the fibers defining pores, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the elastomer is a TFE/PMVE copolymer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, wherein a diameter of a majority of the fibers is less than about 1 μ
m, the space between the fibers defining pores, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores,a cushion member located between at least a portion of the support structure and at least a portion of the leaflet, wherein the cushion member comprises a second composite material with at least one synthetic polymer membrane having a plurality of pores and an elastomer present in substantially all of the pores. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, wherein a diameter of a majority of the fibers is less than about 1 μ
m, the space between the fibers defining pores, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the composite material comprises at least one layer of the synthetic polymer membrane, wherein the at least one synthetic polymer membrane is expanded fluoropolymer membrane, wherein the elastomer is a TFE/PMVE copolymer, and wherein the valve is operable to be a prosthetic heart valve.
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27. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane having a plurality of pores and an elastomer present in substantially all of the pores, the composite material comprising elastomer by weight in a range from about 10% to about 90%. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 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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59. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, the space between the fibers defining pores that have a pore size that is less than about 5 μ
m, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the elastomer is a TFE/PMVE copolymer. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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77. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, the space between the fibers defining pores that have a pore size that is less than about 5 μ
m, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the composite material comprises elastomer by weight in a range from about 10% to about 90%.
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78. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, the space between the fibers defining pores that have a pore size that is less than about 5 μ
m, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the composite material comprises at least one layer of the synthetic polymer membrane, wherein the leaflet has at least 10 layers of porous polyethylene membrane and the composite material comprising less than about 50% synthetic polyethylene membrane by weight.
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79. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, the space between the fibers defining pores that have a pore size that is less than about 5 μ
m, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores,a cushion member located between at least a portion of the support structure and at least a portion of the leaflet, wherein the cushion member comprises a second composite material with at least one synthetic polymer membrane having a plurality of pores and an elastomer present in substantially all of the pores. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83)
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84. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, the space between the fibers defining pores that have a pore size that is less than about 5 μ
m, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the composite material comprises at least one layer of the synthetic polymer membrane, wherein the at least one synthetic polymer membrane is expanded fluoropolymer membrane, wherein the elastomer is a TFE/PMVE copolymer, and wherein the valve is operable to be a prosthetic heart valve.
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85. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, wherein a diameter of a majority of the fibers is less than about 1 μ
m, the space between the fibers defining pores, the elastomer being present in the pores, further comprisinga cushion member located between at least a portion of the support structure and at least a portion of the leaflet, wherein the cushion member comprises a second composite material with at least one synthetic polymer membrane having a plurality of pores and an elastomer present in the pores.
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86. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising at least one synthetic polymer membrane having a plurality of pores and an elastomer present in the pores, the composite material comprising elastomer by weight in a range from about 10% to about 90%. - View Dependent Claims (87)
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88. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising more than two layers of a synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, wherein a diameter of a majority of the fibers is less than about 1 μ
m, the space between the fibers defining pores, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the leaflet comprises overlapping wrappings of the composite material, wherein the layers of the synthetic polymer membrane are defined by a number of overlapping wrappings of the composite material, wherein the leaflet has a ratio of leaflet thickness (μ
m) to number of layers of synthetic polymer membrane of less than about 20.
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89. A valve, comprising:
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a support structure, and at least one leaflet being supported on the support structure and movable between open and closed positions, each leaflet including a composite material comprising more than two layers of a synthetic polymer membrane and an elastomer, the at least one synthetic polymer membrane comprising fibers that define space therebetween, wherein a diameter of a majority of the fibers is less than about 1 μ
m, the space between the fibers defining pores, the elastomer being disposed in substantially all of the pores, wherein the leaflet comprises overlapping wrappings of the composite material, wherein the layers of the synthetic polymer membrane are defined by a number of overlapping wrappings of the composite material, wherein the leaflet has at least 10 layers and the composite material comprising less than about 50% synthetic polyethylene membrane by weight.
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Specification