Patent EP0997115A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0997115A2
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Self-expandable stent and stent-graft and method of using them
Assignee: Gore Enterprise Holdings Inc
•
Filing: 1995-04-03
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2015-04-03
Abstract
Abstract The device is a foldable stent (122) or stent-graft (370) which may be delivered with (or on) a catheter or via surgical or other suitable techniques. The device is then expanded or unfolded. The expandable stent structure preferably utilizes at least one torsional member (100) generally aligned with the longitudinal axis of the stent (122). The stent (122) preferably has an undulating shape. It may be helically deployed to form the generally cylindrical shape eventually deployed as the stent (122) or it may be formed of one or more rings (302). The structure desirably is aligned to allow those undulating shapes in adjacent rings (322) or turns of the helix to be in phase. The adjacent undulating shapes may be held in that phased relationship using a flexible linkage often made of a polymeric material. The stent (122) is self-expanding, kink-resistant, easily bent along its longitudinal axis, does not change its length during that expansion, and is able to provide collapsible support for otherwise frangible graft material. The graft component (134) cooperating with the stent (122) is tubular and may be biocompatible polymeric or collagenous material or combinations of the two which may, if desired, be reinforced with fibers.
Inventors
- 👤 Lilip Lau
- 👤 Charles T. Maroney
- 👤 William M. Hartigan
- 👤 Sharon Lam
- 👤 Kimberley A. Mccullough
- 👤 Woonza Rhee
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 09:57
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61F; A61F2/00; A61F2/82; A61F2/86; A61F2/88; A61F2/844; A61F2/856; A61F2/90; A61F2/91; A61F2/915; A61F2/92; A61F2/02; A61F2/04; A61F2/06; A61F2/07; A61F2/89; A61F2/95; A61F2/954; A61F2002/075; A61F2/30; A61F2002/30001; A61F2002/30003; A61F2002/3006; A61F2002/3008; A61F2002/30092; A61F2002/30316; A61F2002/30329; A61F2002/30462; A61F2002/9155; A61F2002/91558; A61F2002/91575; A61F2210/00; A61F2210/0014; A61F2210/0019; A61F2210/0076; A61F2220/00; A61F2220/0025; A61F2220/0058; A61F2220/0075; A61F2230/00; A61F2230/0002; A61F2230/0028; A61F2230/0039; A61F2230/0041; A61F2230/006; A61F2230/0063; A61F2230/0073; A61F2230/0078; A61F2250/00; A61F2250/0058; A61F2250/0096; A61F2250/0098; A61F2310/00; A61F2310/00005; A61F2310/00011; A61F2310/00017; A61F2310/00023; A61F2310/00029; A61F2310/00035; A61F2310/00137; A61F2310/00149
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 50
Claim 1
Independent Claim
52 words
A device comprising: a folded, self-expanding stent, said stent having an
unfolded tubular configuration and a deployable, folded
configuration, said folded stent having at least one
longitudinal fold edge; and a releasing line extending through and along said at
least one longitudinal fold edge to maintain said stent in
said folded configuration.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
12 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said stent comprises a
superelastic material.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
12 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said stent comprises a
nickel-titanium alloy.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
11 words
The device of claim 3, wherein said nickel-titanium
alloy is nitinol.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
12 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said stent comprises a
sheet metal.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
12 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said stent comprises a
wire material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
12 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said stent is produced
from tubing.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
26 words
The device of any one of claims 1 to 7, further
comprising at least one tubular graft member coupled to and
generally coaxial with said stent.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
24 words
The device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a
single graft member is present and is coaxially disposed
within said stent.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
13 words
The device of claim 9, wherein the tubular graft
member comprises a polymer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
11 words
The device of claim 10, wherein the polymer comprises
a fluoropolymer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
11 words
The device of claim 11, wherein the fluoropolymer
comprises expanded polytetrafluoroethylene.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
13 words
The device of claim 9, wherein said graft member
comprises a nonthrombogenic material.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
19 words
The device of any one of claims 9 to 13, further
comprising reinforcing fibers within said tubular graft
member.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
19 words
The device of any one of claims 9 to 14, further
comprising radiopaque markers within said tubular graft
member.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
35 words
The device from any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein
said stent is formed from at least one undulating shaped
member that circumferentially extends around a longitudinal
axis and forms said tubular folded configuration.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
14 words
The device of claim 16, wherein said at least one
member contains multiple undulations.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
28 words
The device of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein said
stent is formed from a plurality of undulating shaped
members in the shape of a ring.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
17 words
The device of claim 18, further including a tie member
interconnecting undulations of said undulating shaped
members.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
21 words
The device of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein said
stent is releasably constrained in a spiral-shaped folded
configuration.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
27 words
The device of any of claims 1 to 20, wherein said at
least one longitudinal fold edge is approximately parallel
to a longitudinal axis of said stent.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
18 words
The device of any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein said
releasing line is a tether line.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
44 words
A method for preparing self-expanding stent
comprising: folding self-expanding stent along a longitudinal axis
to form at least one fold edge; and introducing a removable line into said stent along
said at least one fold edge to maintain the stent in a
folded condition.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 23, wherein the self-expanding
stent includes loops through which the line is introduced.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 23 or 24, wherein the removable
line is woven into the stent using a sack knot so as to
allow removal of the line by unweaving the sack knot
through axial movement of the slip line.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
14 words
The method of any of claims 23 to 25, wherein the
stent is metallic.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
17 words
The method of any one of claims 23 to 26, wherein the
stent comprises a superelastic alloy.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
17 words
The method of any one of claims 23 to 27, wherein the
stent comprises a nickel-titanium alloy.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
23 words
The method of any one of claims 23 to 28, wherein the
stent comprises a helically positioned undulating shaped
member having multiple turns.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 29, wherein the stent additionally
comprises at least one flexible link passing through
undulations of said undulating member to maintain the
undulations in adjacent turns in alignment.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
33 words
The method of any one of claims 23 to 30 wherein the
stent comprises a plurality of ring assemblies extending
circumferentially about a longitudinal axis, each ring
assembly containing a plurality of undulations.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
18 words
The method of any one of claims 23 to 31, further
comprising a graft attached to the stent.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 32, wherein the graft comprises a
polymeric material.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 32, wherein the graft comprises a
fluoropolymer material.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 32, wherein the graft comprises
a collagen-based material.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
20 words
The method of any one of claims 32 to 35, wherein the
graft comprises reinforcing fibers within said tubular
member.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
21 words
The method of any one of claims 32 to 36, wherein the
graft additionally comprises radiopaque markers within said
tubular member.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
58 words
A method for introducing a self-expanding stent into
a lumen, comprising the steps of: providing a folded, self-expanding stent, releasably
restrained along at least one longitudinal edge; introducing said folded, self-expanding stent to a
selected site in the lumen; axially releasing the folded, self-expanding stent in
the lumen to allow the stent to expand at the selected
site.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 38, wherein the selected site is
a vascular site.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 38 or 39, wherein the stent is
maintained in a folded condition prior to release by a
removal slip line associated with said edge.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 40, wherein the self-expanding
stent includes loops along said at least one edge in the
stent through which the slipline in introduced.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 40, wherein the removable line is
woven into the stent using a sack knot so as to allow
removal of the line by unweaving the sack knot through
axial movement of the line.
Claim 43
Independent Claim
15 words
The method of any one of claims 38 to 42, wherein the
stent is metallic.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 43, wherein the stent comprises a
super-elastic alloy.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 43, wherein the stent comprises a
titanium nickel alloy.
Claim 46
Independent Claim
23 words
The method of any one of claims 38 to 45, wherein the
stent comprises at least one helically positioned
undulating member having undulations.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 46, where the stent additionally
comprises at least one flexible link passing through
undulations of said undulating member and maintaining said
undulations in alignment.
Claim 48
Independent Claim
18 words
The method of any one of claims 38 to 47, further
comprising a graft attached to the stent.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 48, wherein the stent graft
comprises a polymeric material.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 48, wherein the graft comprises a
fluoropolymer.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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