Cobalt-nickel-chromium biocompatible alloy for implantable medical devices

Abstract

A biocompatible solid-solution alloy may be formed into any number of implantable medical devices. The solid-solution alloy comprises a combination of elements in specific ratios that make it magnetic resonance imaging compatible while retaining the characteristics required for implantable medical devices. The biocompatible solid-solution alloy is a cobalt-chromium alloy having substantially reduced iron and/or Silicon content.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to alloys for use in manufacturing or fabricating implantable medical devices, and more particularly, to implantable medical devices manufactured or fabricated from alloys that are magnetic resonance imaging compatible. [0003] 2. Discussion of the Related Art [0004] Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is a therapeutic medical procedure used to increase blood flow through an artery. In this procedure, the angioplasty balloon is inflated within the stenosed vessel, or body passageway, in order to shear and disrupt the wall components of the vessel to obtain an enlarged lumen. With respect to arterial stenosed lesions, the relatively incompressible plaque remains unaltered, while the more elastic medial and adventitial layers of the body passageway stretch around the plaque. This process produces dissection, or a splitting and tearing, of the body passageway wall layers, wherein th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018] The biocompatible alloy of the present invention is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. The biocompatible alloy may be formed into any number of structures or devices. The biocompatible alloy may be thermomechanica

Problems solved by technology

However, one concern with such stents is that they are often impractical for use in some vessels such as the carotid artery.

A patient having a balloon expandable stent made from stainless steel or the like, placed in their carotid artery, might be susceptible to severe injury through day-to-day activity.

A sufficient force placed on the patient's neck could cause the stent to collapse, resulting in injury to the patient.

However, due to the size of the markers and the relative position of the materials forming the markers in the galvanic series versus the position of the base metal of the stent in the galvanic series, there is a certain challenge to overcome;

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