Expandable intraluminal graft, and apparatus for implanting an expandable intraluminal graft

Claim 1

An expandable intraluminal vascular graft or prosthesis (70) for a body passageway, comprising: a tubular shaped member (71) having first (72) and second (73) ends and a wall surface (74) disposed between the first and second ends, the wall surface (74) being formed by a plurality of first and second intersecting elongate members (78, 79), at least some of the first elongate members (78) intersecting with some of the second elongate members (79) intermediate the first and second ends of the tubular shaped member (71), the tubular shaped member (71) having a first diameter (d) which permits intraluminal delivery of the tubular shaped member into a body passageway having a lumen, and the tubular shaped member (71) having a second expanded diameter (d') which is determined by the application from the interior of the tubular shaped member (71) of a radially, outwardly extending force, which second diameter (d') is variable and controlled by the amount of force applied to the tubular shaped member (71), at least some of the elongate members (78, 79) being deformed by the radially, outwardly extending force, to retain the tubular shaped member (71) with the second expanded diameter (d'), whereby the tubular shaped member (71) may be expanded to expand the lumen of the body passageway and remain therein, characterized in that the first and second intersecting elongate members (78, 79) are a plurality of thin bars, each having a uniform thin rectangular cross-sectional configuration, wherein each pair of adjacent first bars (78) is interconnected by at least two of said second bars (79), each second bar (79) being formed integral with the respective pair of first bars (78) and extending only between said pair of first bars (78) and each second bar (79) extending on the circumference of a circle whose plane is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said tubular shaped member (71).

Claim 3

An apparatus for intraluminally reinforcing or expanding the lumen of a body passageway, comprising an expandable, tubular shaped prosthesis or intraluminal vascular graft (70) according to one of the preceding claims and a catheter for mounting the prosthesis or graft (70), characterized in that the catheter has an expandable, inflatable portion associated therewith and including means for mounting and retaining the expandable, tubular shaped prosthesis or intraluminal vascular graft (70) on the expandable, inflatable portion, whereby upon inflation of the expandable, inflatable portion of the catheter, the prosthesis (70) is forced radially outwardly into contact with the body passageway to remain therein, and the expansion of the prosthesis (70) is controlled by the expansion of the inflatable portion of the catheter.