Nested Stent Connectors for Reduced Crimped Profile
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Solution Overview
Problem
Stents often require a low profile for delivery through tortuous anatomy, which can lead to overlapping portions when crimped, limiting their crimped profile and functionality.
Innovation Solution
A stent design featuring serpentine bands connected by first and second connectors, where the second portion of one connector nests within the first portion of another, allowing for a smaller crimped diameter without overlapping connectors, thereby maintaining flexibility and minimizing the crimped profile.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the stent is crimped to minimize its profile for delivery through tortuous anatomy, then the stent achieves a lower profile, but overlapping portions of the stent increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by designing connectors with first and second portions that can nest within each other during crimping. Specifically, the second portion of one connector nests within the first portion of an adjacent connector, allowing the connectors to occupy less space when crimped. This nesting mechanism enables the stent to achieve a lower crimped profile while preventing connector overlap, as the nested configuration allows connectors to be packed closely without interfering with each other.
2Shape
If the stent is crimped to achieve a low profile, then the crimped diameter is reduced, but the flexibility may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the connector into distinct first and second portions with different flexibility characteristics. The first portion is designed to be less flexible to maintain structural integrity during crimping, while the second portion is designed to be more flexible to maintain the stent's overall flexibility after expansion. This segmentation allows each portion to perform its specific function optimally during both crimping and deployment phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different flexibility properties to different portions of the connector. The first portion has lower flexibility to provide structural support during crimping, while the second portion has higher flexibility to maintain stent flexibility after deployment. This localized differentiation of material or geometric properties allows the connector to simultaneously satisfy both crimping compression requirements and post-deployment flexibility requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A stent comprises two serpentine bands, at least one first connector; and at least one second connector. The first and second connectors connect the two serpentine bands together. The first connector and the second each have at least a first portion of a first curvature and a second portion of a second curvature. The second portion being more flexible than the first portion. The first and second connectors are adjacent one another and the first portion of the first connector nests within the second portion of the second connector and the second portion of the second connector nests within the first portion of the first connector.