Protective membrane for reconfiguring a workpiece

• US 20030055481A1
• Filed: 09/18/2001
• Published: 03/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: McMorrow, David
• Granted Patent: US 6,805,703 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.11
• 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 2/95 Instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts

Abstract

A method of protecting the coating on a reconfigurable coated workpiece having a first end and a second end is provided in one embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment includes providing an encasing hollow deformable membrane, positioning the first end of the reconfigurable coated workpiece adjacent to an entrance orifice of the membrane, enlarging the entrance orifice and the inside cavity of the membrane, inserting the reconfigurable coated workpiece into the enlarged entrance orifice and into the inside cavity and decreasing the size of the inside cavity of the membrane until an inside surface of the cavity contacts the coating of the workpiece.

Claims

1. A system for delivering a coated reconfigurable medical implant to a target site comprising:

a carrier device,

the carrier device having a proximal end and a distal end,

the distal end having an implant carrying region; and

a reconfigurable deployable medical implant in physical communication with the implant carrying region,

the deployable medical implant coated with a coating having therapeutic and reconfigurable from a first expanded configuration to a second contracted configuration,

the therapeutic covered by an encasing hollow deformable membrane,

the membrane, in an unexpanded state, defining a cavity having a cross-section that is smaller than the external cross-section of the deployable medical implant in its second contracted configuration.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable deployable medical implant is either a stent, a graft, a stent graft, a vena cava filter or an implantable medical device.

3. A coated medical implant reconfigurable from a first configuration to a second configuration, comprising:

a frame, the frame expandable from a first configuration to a second configuration,

the frame having an external coating,

the coating having a deliverable therapeutic;

an encasing hollow deformable membrane surrounding the external coating,

an internal surface of the deformable membrane in contact with the coating,

the deformable membrane having an unexpanded diameter that is smaller than the cross-sectional diameter of the frame in the second configuration.

4. The coated implant of claim 3 wherein the frame is either a stent, a graft, a stent graft or a vena cava filter.

5. An apparatus for reconfiguring from a first configuration to a second configuration an externally coated reconfigurable medical implant comprising:

a hollow reconfiguration chamber sized to accept the externally coated reconfigurable medical implant;

a source of compressed fluid in fluid communication with the reconfiguration chamber; and

a brace sized to support and in contact with an entrance orifice of a hollow deformable membrane, having an internal surface,

the internal surface of the hollow deformable membrane in fluid communication with the source of pressurized fluid.

6. An apparatus for reconfiguring from a first configuration to a second configuration an externally coated reconfigurable medical implant comprising:

a means to reconfigure a coated reconfigurable medical implant;

a source of pressurized fluid in fluid communication with the means to reconfigure; and

a means to support and hold open an entrance orifice of a hollow deformable membrane,

the entrance orifice positioned to accept the externally coated reconfigurable medical implant,

the entrance orifice in fluid communication with the source of pressurized fluid,

the hollow deformable membrane having an internal cavity cross-section that is smaller than the cross-section of the reconfigurable medical implant in a compressed state.

7. A medical stent comprising:

a metallic frame, the frame expandable from a first position to a second position;

a polymeric layer coating at least a portion of the metallic frame, the polymeric layer carrying a therapeutic agent; and

an encasing hollow deformable membrane surrounding the polymer layer,

an internal surface of the encasing hollow deformable layer in contact with the polymeric layer.

8. The medical stent of claim 7 wherein the encasing hollow deformable membrane is in the shape of a sleeve.

9. The medical stent of claim 7 wherein the encasing hollow deformable membrane contains a zip chord.

10. The medical stent of claim 7 wherein the hollow encasing deformable membrane defines a vessel with a single orifice.

11. The medical stent of claim 7 wherein the encasing hollow deformable membrane has a thickness substantially between 0.3 mm and 0.6 mm

12. The medical stent of claim 7 wherein the hollow encasing deformable membrane defines a sleeve having a first orifice and a second orifice.

13. A method of protecting the coating on a reconfigurable coated workpiece having a first end and a second end, the method comprising:

providing an encasing hollow deformable membrane,

the membrane having an entrance orifice,

the membrane having an inside cavity;

positioning the first end of the reconfigurable coated workpiece adjacent to the entrance orifice of the membrane;

enlarging the entrance orifice and the inside cavity of the membrane;

inserting the reconfigurable coated workpiece into the enlarged entrance orifice and into the inside cavity; and

decreasing the size of the inside cavity until an inside surface of the inside cavity contacts the coating of the workpiece.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the workpiece is a medical implant.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

reconfiguring the reconfigurable coated workpiece from a first configuration to a second configuration.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein reconfiguring the reconfigurable coated workpiece includes applying a compressive force to an outside surface of the membrane.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein enlarging the entrance orifice and the inside cavity includes injecting a pressurized fluid into the membrane.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the reconfigurable coated workpiece is carried on a distal portion of a carrier device.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the reconfigurable coated workpiece is a coated stent and wherein the carrier device is a catheter.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the cross-section of the inside cavity of the membrane in its resting non-expanded state is smaller than the cross-section of the coated stent in the second configuration.

21. The method of claim 13 wherein the coating of the workpiece includes a polymer carrying a therapeutic.

22. The method of claim 13 wherein the membrane is tube-like and also contains an exit orifice.

23. The method of claim 13 wherein the membrane includes compounds selected from a group consisting of latex, silicone, polyurethane, chloroprene and nitrile.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the membrane has a thickness of about 0.3 mm.

25. The method of claim 13 wherein the reconfigurable coated workpiece is either a stent, a graft, a stent graft or a vena cava filter.

26. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

placing a protective covering around an outside surface of the membrane.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the protective covering is a monofilament nylon braided sleeve.