Segmented Medical Stent Design for Radial Rigidity and Flexibility
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Medical stents face challenges in maintaining radial rigidity to hold open body lumens while also requiring flexibility for delivery through tortuous paths, and they often experience high longitudinal compression under axial loads, complicating placement.
Innovation Solution
A medical stent design comprising two sections of cells connected by connectors, allowing for varying stent characteristics along the longitudinal direction, including radial rigidity, flexibility, and compressibility, to adapt to different medical indications and anatomies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the stent is made with a dense mesh structure to increase radial rigidity, then the ability to hold open the body lumen is improved, but the flexibility for delivery through tortuous paths deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into multiple sections with different cell structures. Some sections have denser mesh patterns for radial support, while other sections have more open patterns for flexibility. This segmentation allows different parts of the stent to have optimized properties for their specific functional requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the stent are designed with locally optimized cell patterns. The proximal and distal sections may have different cell densities and configurations compared to the middle section, allowing each local region to have the appropriate balance of radial strength and flexibility for its specific anatomical location.
2Strength
If the stent is designed with high radial rigidity to provide stable support, then the ability to hold open the lumen is improved, but the longitudinal compressibility under axial loads deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is segmented into different cell patterns along its length. Sections with higher longitudinal compressibility needs have more open cell structures that can deform axially, while sections requiring maximum radial support maintain denser patterns. This allows the stent to compress longitudinally during delivery without sacrificing radial strength in critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent structure is designed to be dynamically adaptive - the cell patterns are configured to allow longitudinal compression during delivery, then transition to provide radial expansion and stability when deployed. The varying cell densities throughout the stent enable this dynamic behavior transition.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a medical stent (100) at least two sections (111, 112) arranged in a longitudinal direction, wherein each section (111, 112) comprises a plurality of cells (150, 160) forming a respective ring of cells. Each cell (150, 160) of one section (111) is connected via a connector (121 to 123) with at least one cell of the neighbouring section (112). The rings of cells in the respective sections (111, 112) provide a first and second stent characteristic in a radial direction of the stent and the connectors (121 to 123) provide a third stent characteristic in a longitudinal and/or circumferential direction of the stent. Further disclosed is a method of manufacturing such stent.