Angled Slit Thin-Film Micromesh for Multi-Dimensional Stent Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional thin-film micromeshes for endovascular stents lack flexibility in multiple dimensions, particularly in tortuous neurovascular beds where they undergo significant changes in radial and axial dimensions during delivery and implantation.
Innovation Solution
The development of a thin-film micromesh with angled slits or fenestrations that extend at an angle to the longitudinal axis of a cylindrical-shape thin-film device, allowing for expansion in both radial and longitudinal directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional thin-film micromeshes are used for endovascular stents, then the stent can be deployed, but the micromesh lacks flexibility in multiple dimensions and cannot accommodate significant changes in radial and axial dimensions during delivery and implantation
Solution Approach 1:
The micromesh is divided into multiple fenestrations or slits that are distributed across the film. These segmented openings allow different portions of the micromesh to expand and contract independently, providing multi-dimensional flexibility while maintaining overall structural integrity and aneurysm coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The fenestrations are oriented at specific angles (e.g., 45 degrees) relative to the longitudinal axis, creating a pattern that enables expansion in both radial and longitudinal dimensions. This angular arrangement transforms a two-dimensional planar structure into a three-dimensional expandable configuration
2Ease of manufacture
If the thin-film micromesh is designed with fixed slit orientations, then manufacturing is simplified, but the micromesh cannot expand adequately in both radial and longitudinal directions during deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The fenestrations are designed with asymmetric angular orientations (e.g., 45-degree angles) rather than symmetric circular shapes. This asymmetric pattern inherently provides directional expandability in both radial and longitudinal directions while maintaining a relatively simple manufacturing process using standard photolithography and etching techniques
Data Source
AI summary
Thin-film mesh for medical devices and related methods are provided. The thin-film mesh may include slits to be expanded into pores, and the expanded thin-film mesh may be used as a cover for a stent device. The thin-film mesh has a tube-shape and the slits may be angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the tube-shape thin-film mesh. The angled slits allow for the thin-film mesh to expand in multiple dimensions, including along the longitudinal axis and along the circumferential direction of the tube-shape thin-film mesh. The slits may be provided in diagonal rows arranged in longitudinal columns. Longitudinal columns of different types of slits may be arranged along the circumferential direction on the tube-shape thin-film mesh to form a zig-zag pattern of slits. The thin-film mesh may be formed from thin-film Nitinol (TFN) and may be fabricated via sputter deposition on a micropatterned wafer.