Pulsed fiber laser cutting system for medical implants
US6521865B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 14, 2001 |
| Grant date | Feb 18, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 13, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB23K2103/50
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An improved expandable stent for implantation in a body lumen, such as an artery, and an improved method for making it from a single length of tubing. The stent consists of a plurality of radially expandable cut cylindrical elements generally aligned on a common axis and interconnected by one or more interconnective elements, the elements having a rectangular cross-section from cut-to-cut. The individual radially expandable cylindrical elements are disposed in an undulating pattern. The stent is manufactured by direct laser cutting from a single metal tube using a finely focused laser beam originating from a diode pumped fiber laser with an external pulse generator and passing through a coaxial gas jet structure to impinge on the working surface of the tube as the linear and rotary velocity of the tube is precisely controlled.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.