Method and tooling for forming a stent and stent so formed

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and tooling for forming a stent and the stent so formed. The stent includes filaments of a first material and joints of a second material. The present invention also discloses the above described stent in combination with an angioplasty balloon. The tooling in accordance with the present invention provides a fixture having grooves that receive the filaments of the stent to hold the filaments in place for joining. The joining of all of the filaments can be performed simultaneously by laser welding or injection molding a joint material. The tooling in accordance with the present invention also provides the capability to mold the stent as one piece. The method in accordance with the present invention includes the steps of providing a fixture with internal grooves, placing filaments into the grooves and joining the filaments together. The method also includes providing a mold having internal grooves, and injecting a molten material into the mold to fill the grooves so as to create a one-piece stent of polymer and/or metallic materials.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.