Wave-Shaped Stent Segmentation for Vascular Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stents used for endovascular interventional therapy lack flexibility, making them inadequate for adapting to the complex geometries of diseased vessels, which is crucial for effective deployment and expansion within the vascular system.
Innovation Solution
A highly flexible stent design featuring annular supports with wave-shaped units connected by flexible members, allowing for compliance and uniform expansion, with first and second flexible connecting members extending and winding around support units to enhance compressibility and delivery flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If closed-loop stents are used to provide large metal coverage and great radial supporting force, then the stent can uniformly cover the blood vessel wall and prevent plaque from falling off, but the flexibility is poor and the stent cannot adapt to the bending of complex diseased vessels
Solution Approach 1:
The stent is divided into multiple independent support units (first support units and second support units) arranged in alternating sequences along the axial direction. Each support unit can independently deform and adapt to the vascular geometry, while maintaining radial support through the alternating arrangement. This segmentation allows the stent to bend and conform to complex vessel shapes without compromising overall structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different support units are designed with different wave heights (first wave height for first support units, second wave height for second support units). This local variation in geometry allows certain regions to provide enhanced radial support where needed, while other regions maintain greater flexibility to accommodate vessel bending and curvature, resolving the contradiction between uniform strength and localized adaptability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the stent structure is designed with rigid support units to ensure stability and radial strength, then the stent can maintain its shape and provide consistent support, but the compressibility and delivery flexibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The support units incorporate wave-shaped structures with alternating heights that can dynamically deform during delivery and deployment. The waves allow the stent to compress and expand while maintaining its tubular shape, enabling flexible delivery through catheters while ensuring shape stability once deployed in the target vessel.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent design transitions from a two-dimensional planar grid to a three-dimensional wave-shaped structure with alternating heights. This dimensional change adds axial variation to the support units, allowing them to compress and expand in the radial direction while maintaining axial stability, thus improving both delivery flexibility and shape stability simultaneously.
3Ease of manufacture
If the stent uses uniform support units throughout to simplify manufacturing, then the production process is easier and cost is reduced, but the ability to adapt to different vascular geometries and provide uniform expansion is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The stent employs support units with different wave heights arranged in alternating sequences, creating local variations in structural properties. This allows different regions of the stent to expand uniformly under balloon inflation while accommodating varying vascular geometries, achieving precise control over expansion uniformity without requiring complex manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The stent is segmented into multiple support units with alternating wave heights, allowing each segment to be optimized for local expansion requirements. This segmentation enables uniform expansion across the entire stent while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through the use of standardized wave-shaped unit structures that can be replicated and assembled.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure discloses a highly flexible stent which includes a plurality of annular supports arranged in an axial direction. The annular support is formed by a plurality of wave-shaped support units which are connected end to end. The support unit comprises a peak, a valley and a bar connected between the peak and the valley. In two adjacent annular supports, the peaks and the valleys of the support units of different annular supports are connected by first flexible connecting members. The first flexible connecting member further extends to and is wound onto at least one support unit to form a second flexible connecting member. The present disclosure provides a highly flexible stent having good compressibility, delivery compliance, and uniformity of expansion.