Partial cuff
OwnerClaude Tihoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
To increase the resistance to liquid and substance flow through a lumen of a tubular organ, a flexible apparatus is appended to an exterior wall of the tubular organ such that it only partially surrounds the tubular organ. Ultimately, tissue ingrowth through the apparatus integrates the apparatus into the wall of the tubular organ. When the apparatus is applied to tubular tissue, flow though the tubular tissue is restricted. The apparatus may also support an optional expandable component, e.g., a balloon-like element that can be selectively inflated and/or deflated to restrict the lumen of the tubular tissue by a desired degree.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- a curved shape-memory material extending from a first end to a second end, the first end and the second end curving toward one another and defining a gap between the respective first and second ends when the curved shape-memory material is in a relaxed state;
- and
- a surface material extending along an inner curved surface of the shape-memory material and configured and arranged to facilitate tissue in-growth, the shape-memory material being configured and arranged with the surface material to:
- in response to the shape-memory material being expanded and subsequently released onto an outer surface of tubular tissue having a radius of curvature that corresponds to a radius of curvature of the shape-memory material in the relaxed state, engage the surface material onto the outer surface of the tubular tissue with the inner curved surface extending in a tubular shape along a length of the outer surface of the tubular tissue;
- and
- via the engaging, restrict fluid flow through the tubular tissue along the length of the inner curved surface by applying pressure for restricting expansion of the tubular tissue, via engagement of the surface material along the length of the outer surface of the tubular tissue.
A method comprising:
- expanding a curved shape-memory material that extends from a first end to a second end, the first end and the second end curving toward one another and defining a gap between the respective first and second ends when the curved shape-memory material is in a relaxed state, so that the distance between first and second ends across the gap is larger than said distance in the relaxed state;
- providing a surface material extending along an inner curved surface of the shape-memory material, the surface material being configured and arranged to facilitate tissue in-growth;
- and
- releasing the expanded shape-memory material onto an outer surface of tubular tissue having a radius of curvature that corresponds to a radius of curvature of the shape-memory material in the relaxed state, and therein engaging the surface material with the outer surface of the tubular tissue and, via the engaging, restricting fluid flow through the tubular tissue.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.