摘要:
Under one aspect, an interventional device includes a balloon having a flexible wall. The flexible wall includes a composition including between 0.005 wt. % and 0.20 wt. % of carbon nanotubes dispersed in a polymer. Under another aspect, a method of making an interventional device includes contacting a plurality of polymer particles with a plurality of nanotubes; extruding the polymer particles and the nanotubes to form a composition comprising the polymer and the nanotubes; and blow-casting the composition into a balloon.
摘要:
An embolic protection device for use in a blood vessel when an interventional procedure is being performed in a stenosed or occluded region to capture any embolic material which may be created and released into the bloodstream during the procedure. The device includes a filtering assembly having a self-expanding strut assembly and a filter element attached thereto. In one embodiment, the filtering assembly is attached to the distal end of a guidewire and is deployed within the patient's vasculature as the guidewire is manipulated into the area of treatment. A restraining sheath placed over the filtering assembly in a coaxial arrangement maintains the filtering assembly in its collapsed position until it is ready to be deployed by the physician. Thereafter, the sheath can be retracted to expose the filtering assembly which will then self-expand within the patient's vasculature. Interventional devices can be delivered over the guidewire and any embolic debris created during the interventional procedure and released into the blood stream will enter the filtering assembly and be captured therein. Other embodiments include filtering assemblies attached to an outer tubular member and inner shaft member which apply axial force to the distal ends of the assembly to either expand or contract the struts as needed.
摘要:
A nickel-titanium alloy having a large, superelastic operating temperature window or range. The nickel-titanium alloy includes at least an additional element such as platinum, palladium, manganese, boron, aluminum, tungsten, and/or zirconium. When processed through heat treat and area reduction steps, the resultant alloy exhibits a wide superelastic temperature operating window if the characteristics of the alloy when plotted on a temperature versus stress curve can be expressed as UP=(0.66 ksi/° C.)(T)+σ0, with R2≧0.98, wherein σ0 is the upper plateau stress of the alloy at about 0° C., R2 is the coefficient of determination, and UP is the upper plateau stress of the alloy.
摘要:
A deformable sheath is attached to a catheter and introduced intravascularly to be expanded against an arterial wall and entrap plaque therebetween. A stent is subsequently deployed within the expanded sheath and the sheath is then withdrawn from within the vasculature to leave the stent expanded against the arterial wall with the plaque entrapped therebetween.
摘要:
An expandable, bistable open cell design incorporates the following features: a first relatively stiff portion (152) having first and second ends and a first relatively flexible portion (154) connected to the first and second ends of the first relatively stiff portion, the first relatively stiff portion and the first relatively flexible portion substantially surrounding a first open area (156) of the stent structure; a second relatively stiff portion (158) having first and second ends and a second relatively flexible portion (160) connected to the first and second ends of the first relatively stiff portion, the first relatively stiff portion and the first relatively flexible portion substantially surrounding a second open area (162) of the stent structure; and an opening (1 10) formed through the first relatively stiff portion and the second relatively flexible portion such that the opening connects the first and second open areas, thereby creating first and second intermediate ends (152a, 152b) of the first relatively stiff portion and first and second intermediate ends (160a, 160b) of the second relatively flexible portion. The first intermediate end (152a) of the relatively stiff portion is connected to the first intermediate end (160a) of the relatively flexible portion so as to create a first inward apex (170), the second intermediate end (152b) of the relatively stiff portion is connected to the second intermediate end (160b) of the relatively flexible portion so as to create a second inward apex (172), and the stent structure is configured such that, in a collapsed configuration, the first inward apex (170) is in contact with the second inward apex (172) and, in an expanded configuration, the first inward apex is biased to move in a first circumferential direction and the second inward apex is biased to move in a second circumferential direction that is different than the first circumferential direction.
摘要:
An embolic protection device for use in a blood vessel when an interventional procedure is being performed in a stenosed or occluded region to capture any embolic material which may be created and released into the bloodstream during the procedure. The device includes a filtering assembly having a self-expanding strut assembly and a filter element attached thereto. In one embodiment, the filtering assembly is attached to the distal end of a guide wire and is deployed within the patient's vasculature as the guide wire is manipulated into the area of treatment. A restraining sheath placed over the filtering assembly in a coaxial arrangement maintains the filtering assembly in its collapsed position until it is ready to be deployed by the physician. Thereafter, the sheath can be retracted to expose the filtering assembly which will then self-expand within the patient's vasculature. Interventional devices can be delivered over the guide wire and any embolic debris created during the interventional procedure and released into the blood stream will enter the filtering assembly and be captured therein. Other embodiments include filtering assemblies attached to an outer tubular member and inner shaft member which apply axial force to the distal ends of the assembly to either expand or contract the struts as needed.
摘要:
A guidewire or section thereof, that has a core member or the like with a plurality of contiguous tapered segments having taper angles that are configured to produce a linear change in stiffness over a longitudinal portion of the device. The device may also have a core section with a continuously changing taper angle to produce a curvilinear profile that is configured to produce a linear change in stiffness of the core over a longitudinal portion of the device. An embodiment has a plurality of radiopaque elements that may be intermittent, continuous or in the form of a helical ribbon for scaled measurement of intracorporeal structure under flouroscopic imaging. Another embodiment has at least one layer of polymer over the distal end of the device.
摘要:
An expandable frame for an embolic filtering device used to capture embolic debris in a body vessel includes a first half frame having a first control arm connected to a second control arm by a partial loop and a second half frame having a first control arm connected to a second control arm by a partial loop. The partial loops cooperatively form a composite loop for attachment of a filtering element which will expand in the body vessel to capture embolic debris entrained in the fluid of the vessel. The lengths and positioning of the first and second control arms of each half frame can be varied to create an expandable frame which conforms to the size and shape of the body vessel in which the filtering device is deployed. Additionally, the radius of the partial loops, along with the length of the arc of the partial loops, can be varied on each of the frames to create a composite filtering assembly that can easily adapt to the size and shape of the body vessel. Additionally, the control arms of the half frames can be disposed either proximally or distally of the composite loop to create a distinct filtering structure.