Apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity

Claim 1

An apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity, such as in an artery, a bile duct, a ureter or the like comprising: a wire part having a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour made from a shape memory alloy, said part widening radially while maintaining a cylindrical outer contour at a transition temperature which is above an ambient temperature, but below a body temperature, a diameter of the cylindrical outer contour at a temperature below the transition temperature being smaller than a diameter of the body cavity, wherein the wire part with a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour has a circular knitted structure made from one single wire with at at least one end of the wire having a ball used for removal of the wire part after placement in the body cavity.

Claim 2

An apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity, such as in an artery, a bile duct, a ureter or the like comprising: a wire part having a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour made from a shape memory alloy, said part widening radially while maintaining a cylindrical outer contour at a transition temperature which is above an ambient temperature, but below a body temperature, a diameter of the cylindrical outer contour at a temperature below the transition temperature being smaller than a diameter of the body cavity, wherein the wire part with a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour has a circular knitted structure made from one single wire with at at least one end of the wire having a ball used for removal of the wire part after placement in the body cavity.

Claim 3

An apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity, such as in an artery, a bile duct, a ureter or the like comprising: a wire part having a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour made from a shape memory alloy, said part widening radially while maintaining a cylindrical outer contour at a transition temperature which is above an ambient temperature, but below a body temperature, a diameter of the cylindrical outer contour at a temperature below the transition temperature being smaller than a diameter of the body cavity wherein the wire part is a round or flat wire in meander form, with adjacent arms of a meander passing in a substantially circumferential direction, while meander webs joining the arms are directed in a substantially axially parallel manner, the wire part is made from one wire and at at least one end of the wire having a ball used for removal of the wire part after placement in the body cavity.

Claim 4

An apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity, such as in an artery, a bile duct, a ureter or the like comprising: a wire part having a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour made from a shape memory alloy, said part widening radially while maintaining a cylindrical outer contour at a transition temperature which is above an ambient temperature, but below a body temperature, a diameter of the cylindrical outer contour at a temperature below the transition temperature being smaller than a diameter of the body cavity wherein the wire part is a round or flat wire in meander form, with adjacent arms of a meander passing in a substantially circumferential direction, while meander webs joining the arms are directed in a substantially axially parallel manner, the wire part is made from one wire and at at least one end of the wire having a ball used for removal of the wire part after placement in the body cavity.

Claim 5

An apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity, such as an artery, a bile duct, a ureter or the like comprising: a wire part having a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour made from a shape memory alloy, said part widening radially while maintaining a cylindrical outer contour at a transition temperature which is above an ambient temperature, but below a body temperature, a diameter of the cylindrical outer contour at a temperature below the transition temperature being smaller than a diameter of the body cavity wherein the wire part is a round or flat wire in meander form, having adjacent arms of a meander passing in a substantially circumferential direction, while meander webs joining the arms are directed in a substantially axially parallel manner and the meander arms have axial bends extending toward an adjacent meander arm.

Claim 6

An apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity, such as an artery, a bile duct, a ureter or the like comprising: a wire part having a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour made from a shape memory alloy, said part widening radially while maintaining a cylindrical outer contour at a transition temperature which is above an ambient temperature, but below a body temperature, a diameter of the cylindrical outer contour at a temperature below the transition temperature being smaller than a diameter of the body cavity wherein the wire part is a round or flat wire in meander form, having adjacent arms of a meander passing in a substantially circumferential direction, while meander webs joining the arms are directed in a substantially axially parallel manner and the meander arms have axial bends extending toward an adjacent meander arm.

Claim 10

An apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity, such as in an artery, a bile duct, a ureter or the like comprising: a wire part having a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour made from a shape memory alloy, said part widening radially while maintaining a cylindrical outer contour at a transition temperature which is above an ambient temperature, but below a body temperature, a diameter of the cylindrical outer contour at a temperature below the transition temperature being smaller than a diameter of the body cavity and having a substantially axially extending joining web and from sides of the web extend circularly bent ribs, each bent rib extending circumferentially from the web in a direction opposite to a circumferential extension of at least one adjacent bent rib.

Claim 11

An apparatus for widening a stenosis in a body cavity, such as in an artery, a bile duct, a ureter or the like comprising: a wire part having a substantially cylindrical jacket-shaped outer contour made from a shape memory alloy, said part widening radially while maintaining a cylindrical outer contour at a transition temperature which is above an ambient temperature, but below a body temperature, a diameter of the cylindrical outer contour at a temperature below the transition temperature being smaller than a diameter of the body cavity and having a substantially axially extending joining web and from sides of the web extend circularly bent ribs, each bent rib extending circumferentially from the web in a direction opposite to a circumferential extension of at least one adjacent bent rib.