Method for treating expandable polymer materials
US6890463B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 22, 2002 |
| Grant date | May 10, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 12, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61F2/06
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention is directed to methods involving rewetting of expandable polymers with a wettable liquid to allow for enhanced expansion at or below room temperature without breakage, and in some cases, allows one to achieve a greater expansion ratio than that allowed at elevated temperatures using known methods. The wettable liquid can be formed of a drug and/or an agent, such that the resulting polymer contains and emits the drug upon positioning at a target location of a patient body. The present invention also allows one to achieve material with unique properties and handling characteristics. These properties included decreased material thickness, increased density, an altered node/fibril morphology, and a more consistent web in the case of flat material. This method is not limited to room temperature conditions and can be applied whenever the expandable polymer material is wet with a wettable liquid, and the expansion is performed at a temperature preferably below the vaporization or boiling points of that liquid.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.