Vascular stents and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9271853-B2
Application number	US-201414533979-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 5, 2014
Priority date	Oct 1, 2012
Publication date	Mar 1, 2016
Grant date	Mar 1, 2016

Abstract

A vascular stent assembly includes at least a first and a second strut, each including a thickness and a depth. The assembly includes a pair of end radii, with each of the first and second struts extending from one of the pair of end radii. A thickness of at least one of the first and second struts includes a tapering profile extending from one of the end radii to another of the end radii, the tapering profile following a continuously increasing or decreasing function through at least half a length of the at least one strut.

First claim

We claim:

1. A vascular stent assembly, comprising:
at least a first and a second strut, each including a thickness and a depth; and
a pair of end radii, each of the first and second struts extending from one of the pair of end radii; wherein
a thickness of at least one of the first and second struts includes a tapering profile extending from one of the end radii to another of the end radii, the tapering profile following a continuously increasing or decreasing function through at least half a length of the at least one strut, and wherein the assembly is formed from graphite carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotubes (CI-CNTs).

2. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tapering profile continuously decreases from one of the end radii to a midpoint of the strut, then continuously increasing from the midpoint of the strut to the other of the end radii.

3. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tapering profile is a curvilinear profile.

4. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tapering profile is a sloped line.

5. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tapering profile is convex.

6. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tapering profile is concave.

7. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein one face of the strut is substantially unsloped, and wherein an opposing face of the strut includes the tapering profile.

8. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein opposing faces of the strut each include a tapering profile.

9. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein a depth of at least one of the struts can vary along a length of the strut as the thickness of the strut varies.

10. A vascular stent assembly, comprising:
a series of struts, each including a length, a thickness and a depth; and
a series of end radii, each of the struts extending between one end radius on one end of the strut and another end radius on another end of the strut; wherein
a thickness of each of the struts includes a tapering profile extending from one end of the strut to another end of the strut, the thickness of the tapering profile continuously increasing or decreasing along the length of the strut through at least half a length of the strut; and
the depth of each of the struts being substantially constant along the length of the strut, and wherein the assembly is formed from graphite carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotubes (CI-CNTs).

11. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein each strut includes an upper face and a lower, opposing face, and wherein each of the upper face and the lower face include a tapering profile through at least half a length of the strut.

12. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein each strut includes an upper face and a lower, opposing face, and wherein only one of the upper face and the lower face includes a tapering profile through at least half a length of the strut.

13. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein the tapering profile is a curvilinear profile.

14. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein the tapering profile is a sloped line.

15. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein the tapering profile is convex.

16. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein the tapering profile is concave.

17. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein the series of struts and end radii comprise a contiguous unit.

Assignees

• Univ Brigham Young

Inventors

• Skousen Darrell J
• Jensen Brian D
• Bowden Anton E

Classifications

• A61L31/146

  Porous materials, e.g. foams or sponges · CPC title

• B82Y40/00

  Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures · CPC title

• A61F2002/91558

  connected peak to peak · CPC title

• A61F2/82

  Devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents (stent-grafts for tubular structures of the body other than blood vessels A61F2/04; stent-grafts for blood vessels A61F2/07) · CPC title

• A61F2/86 Primary

  Stents in a form characterised by the wire-like elements; Stents in the form characterised by a net-like or mesh-like structure · CPC title