Expandable medical device with ductile hinges
US6293967A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 20, 1999 |
| Grant date | Sep 25, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 20, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61F2002/91558
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An expandable tissue supporting device of the present invention employs ductile hinges at selected points in the expandable device. When expansion forces are applied to the device as a whole, the ductile hinges concentrate expansion stresses and strains in small well defined areas. The expandable tissue supporting device includes a plurality of elongated beams arranged in a cylindrical device and connected together by a plurality of ductile hinges. Although many ductile hinge configurations are possible, the ductile hinges preferably have a substantially constant hinge cross sectional area which is smaller than a beam cross sectional area such that as the device is expanded from a first diameter to a second diameter, the ductile hinges experience plastic deformation while the beams are not plastically deformed. The expandable tissue supporting device can be provided with segments which may be expanded in a specified sequence and/or framed hole features for accommodating bifurcations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.