Implant for supporting bodily conduits such as blood vessels or/and grafted vessels

• US 9,949,852 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2016
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Medical Research, Infrastructure And Health Services Fund Of The Tel Aviv Medical Center, Vascular Graft Solutions Ltd.
• Original Assignee: The Medical Research, Infrastructure And Health Services Fund Of The Tel Aviv Medical Center, Vascular Graft Solutions Ltd.
• Inventors: Orion, Eyal, Bachar, Yehuda, Ben-Gal, Yanai, Rapaport, Avraham, Cibulski, Gilad, Winshtein, Ronny
• Primary Examiner(s): GHERBI, SUZETTE JAIME J
• Application Number:
  US15/008,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20160143754A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 623 115- 148, 623 153
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/11 for performing anastomosis; Buttons for anastomosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12 for ligaturing or otherwise compressing tubular parts of the body, e.g. blood vessels, umbilical cord specially adapted for vas deferens or fallopian tubes A61F6/20; materials for ligaturing blood vessels A61L17/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/1107 for blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/1135 End-to-side connections, e.g. T- or Y-connections Y-shaped blood vessel prostheses A61F2002/065
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/064 with special features to facilitate anastomotic coupling anastomosis of natural blood vessels A61B17/11
• 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 2/90 characterised by a net-like or mesh-like structure

Abstract

Implant for supporting bodily conduits, such as blood vessels or/and grafted vessels, inside a subject. In exemplary embodiments, the implant includes a support fixedly displaceable and plastically stretchable to points along longitudinal axis of the support, when subjected to a stretching force, thereby forming a new shape, the support substantially maintains the new shape upon removal of the stretching force. The support, when forming the new shape, is plastically reversely compressible in a direction along the support longitudinal axis, when subjected to axially compressive force. Support may include a radially elastic portion configured to regain fixedly deformed diameter upon removal of radially compressive force applied thereto. Support is configurable as an intraluminal support for intraluminal deployment and setting in a conduit segment, or, as an external support for enveloping a conduit segment, so as to change route or/and shape of the conduit segment.

Claims

1. An implant for supporting a conduit inside a body of a person or an animal, the implant comprising:

a support whose longitudinal axis is positionable along or parallel to the conduit longitudinal axis, said support includes a braid having a plurality of deformable elements extending along said support longitudinal axis and configured to deform when said support is subjected to a stretching force, thereby forming a new fixed length of said support, wherein said support substantially maintains said new fixed length upon removal of said stretching force.

2. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support, with said new fixed length, is compressible in a direction along said support longitudinal axis, when subjected to an axially compressive force.

3. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support is configured for supporting the conduit being a blood vessel or/and a grafted vessel.

4. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support is configured for supporting the conduit being a body vessel with a varying cross sectional diameter, wherein the support is fixedly deformable in diameter along a plurality of points of said longitudinal axis and configured for facilitating uniform support to said vessel by allowing different portions of the support to have different diameters.

5. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support includes a radially elastic portion configured to regain a fixedly deformed diameter upon removal of a radially compressive force applied to said portion.

6. The implant of claim 5, wherein said radially elastic portion is configured for allowing radial expansion of at least a portion of the conduit.

7. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support includes a meshed surface having at least one plastically deformable element.

8. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support includes at least one plastically deformable element.

9. The implant of claim 8, wherein said support further includes at least one elastically deformable element.

10. The implant of claim 9, wherein said at least one plastically deformable element is braided with said at least one elastically deformable element.

11. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support is configured as an intraluminal support for intraluminal deployment and setting in a segment of the conduit, so as to change a route or/and a shape of said conduit segment.

12. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support is configured as an external support for enveloping a segment of the conduit, so as to change a route or/and a shape of said conduit segment.

13. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support is configured for in-situ fitting to different lengths.

14. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support is configured for imposing a path for the conduit in order to prevent or reduce occlusive deformation of the conduit.

15. The implant of claim 1, wherein said support is stretchable along said longitudinal axis from a first diameter to a second diameter smaller than said first diameter.