3D Printed Stent with Removable Connectors for Flexibility
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for making stents are laborious, expensive, and time-consuming, and rapid prototyping methods using three-dimensional printing do not allow for sufficient flexibility in stents, particularly for coronary applications, as they do not enable gaps between crowns of adjacent bands.
Innovation Solution
A method using three-dimensional printing to form stents with a precursor stent comprising bands connected by struts and crowns, where a selected number of connectors between bands are removed to create gaps, allowing for increased flexibility by using different materials for removable and non-removable connectors and employing processes like laser ablation or chemical etching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If rapid prototyping methods using three-dimensional printing are used to make stents, then manufacturing time and costs are reduced, but the stents lack sufficient flexibility for coronary applications because connectors between bands cannot be removed
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into multiple bands connected by connectors, where certain connectors are designated as removable and others as permanent. This segmentation allows selective removal of specific connectors to create gaps and achieve desired flexibility while maintaining structural integrity through permanent connectors.
Solution Approach 2:
Different connectors between bands are assigned different properties - some are made from removable materials (sacrificial material) and others from permanent materials (structural material). This local differentiation enables precise control over stent flexibility at specific locations while maintaining overall structural strength.
2Strength
If all connectors between adjacent bands are kept attached to maintain structural integrity, then stent strength is improved, but flexibility is reduced making it unsuitable for coronary applications
Solution Approach 1:
The connector system is segmented into removable and permanent portions, allowing selective removal of specific connectors to create gaps that provide flexibility while permanent connectors maintain structural integrity at critical locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent employs composite construction with connectors made from different materials - sacrificial material that can be removed and structural material that remains permanent. This composite approach enables simultaneous achievement of strength through permanent connectors and flexibility through removable connector locations.
3Reliability
If conventional manufacturing methods are used to make stents, then structural integrity is maintained, but manufacturing is laborious, expensive, and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The method merges rapid prototyping technology with selective material removal to achieve conventional stent quality. The three-dimensional printing process creates all connectors initially attached, ensuring structural integrity during manufacturing, followed by selective removal of sacrificial connectors to achieve desired flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
All connectors are initially formed and attached during the rapid prototyping process before any removal operations. This preliminary attachment ensures structural integrity is maintained throughout manufacturing, and only after the stent is complete are selective connectors removed to create gaps and provide flexibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method enables the production of flexible stents with improved mechanical properties, reducing manufacturing time and costs while enhancing the stent's ability to be used in coronary applications by creating gaps between bands, thus addressing the limitations of conventional stent manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
a three-dimensional printer forms a precursor stent using three-dimensional printing
Implementation Method 2
employing processes like laser ablation or chemical etching
Implementation Method 3
employing processes like laser ablation or chemical etching
Data Source
AI summary
A method of making a stent includes a three-dimensional printer receiving a dataset corresponding to a three-dimensional precursor stent. The three-dimensional printer forms a precursor stent. The precursor stent comprises a plurality of bands disposed adjacent to each other, wherein each band comprises a plurality of struts connected by a plurality of crowns, and a plurality of connectors connecting each band to an adjacent band. The precursor stent is processed to remove a selected number of the plurality of connectors between adjacent bands such that at least one connector between each set of adjacent bands is removed. In an embodiment, only one connector remains between each adjacent band after the selected number of connectors have been removed.