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US 11,376,762 B2Granted
Methods for increasing a retention force between a polymeric scaffold and a delivery balloon
AssigneeAbbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc.
InventorsLily Ayo Roberts, Sean A. McNiven, Kathleen Yan, Boyd V. Knott, Jeremy B. Beer, Mark C. Johnson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A medical device-includes a scaffold crimped to a catheter having an expansion balloon. The scaffold is crimped to the balloon by a process that includes inflating the delivery balloon during a diameter reduction to improve scaffold retention and maintaining an inflated balloon during the diameter reduction and prior and subsequent dwell periods.
Claims16
A method for crimping a scaffold to a balloon, comprising the steps of:
- using a scaffold comprising a polymer characterized by a glass transition temperature (TG), wherein the scaffold has a first diameter and the balloon has a deployed diameter, and wherein the first diameter is equal to or greater than the deployed diameter;
- heating the scaffold to a raised temperature of about TG;
- using a crimping mechanism, crimping the scaffold to the balloon while the scaffold has the raised temperature, including maintaining a pressure in the balloon as the scaffold diameter is being reduced in size, the crimping including
- (a) reducing the scaffold diameter from the first diameter to a second diameter,
- (b) reducing the scaffold diameter from the second diameter to a final diameter, and
- (c) maintaining a constant scaffold diameter for each of a plurality of stress relaxation periods,
- wherein the scaffold diameter is reduced from the first diameter to the second diameter over a first period of time, and the scaffold diameter is reduced from the second diameter to the final diameter over a second period of time different from the first period of time;
- wherein at least one stress relaxation period occurs after step (a) and before step (b);
- wherein a stress relaxation period is between 1 and 185 seconds;
- wherein the scaffold is crimped by the crimping mechanism having crimper blades, and wherein a polymer sheet is disposed between the crimper blades and a surface of the scaffold during crimping;
- and
- wherein the balloon has a first pressure during a stress relaxation period and a second pressure different from the first pressure during step (b).
9 more elements
A method for crimping a polymer scaffold to a balloon, comprising:
- using a crimping device, crimping the scaffold to the balloon, including the steps of (a) reducing a scaffold diameter from a first diameter to a second diameter, (b) reducing the scaffold diameter from the second diameter to a third diameter, and (c) maintaining a constant scaffold diameter for each of a plurality of stress relaxation periods, wherein the scaffold diameter is reduced from the first diameter to the second diameter over a first period of time, and the scaffold diameter is reduced from the second diameter to the third diameter over a second period of time different from the first period of time;
- wherein at least one stress relaxation period occurs after step (a) and before step (b);
- and
- wherein a stress relaxation period is between 1 and 185 seconds;
- wherein the scaffold is crimped by the crimping device having crimper blades, and wherein a polymer sheet is disposed between the crimper blades and a surface of the scaffold during crimping;
- and
- wherein the balloon has a first pressure during a stress relaxation period and a second pressure different from the first pressure during step (b).
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.