Stent-graft attachment
OwnerOrla McCullagh, Robert Thistleinventors
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Abstract
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for attachment between intersecting stent members and a covering or graft. The attachment fixes the covering relative to selected intersections of the stent members and prevents the covering from wrinkling, crimping, or sliding during radial expansion of the stent. In a preferred embodiment, the attachment comprises a continuous filament passing through the stent covering and looping around stent members between selected intersections and knotted around the intersecting stent members at selected intersections.
Claims28
An attachment between intersecting stent members of a tubular stent and a stent covering, said attachment comprising a continuous filament repeatedly passing through said stent covering and wrapping around at least one of said stent members;
- a restraint member encircling at least one intersection of said intersecting stent members and attached to the covering at a point near said intersection.
A method of attaching a covering to a stent, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a stent frame having intersecting stent members;
- positioning the covering to the frame;
- repeatedly passing a continuous filament through the stent covering along one of said stent members and wrapping the continuous filament around said stent member between said repeated passings;
- and
- knotting the continuous filament around an intersection of said stent member with a second stent member.
An attachment between a stent covering and an end of a braided section of intersecting stent members, the attachment comprising a continuous suture repeatedly passing through the stent covering and wrapping around at least one of the stent members wherein the attachment is positioned at an end of a braided section of the stent and the suture is knotted around the intersecting stent members at one or more intersections of the stent members, circumscribing the stent and repeatedly passing through the covering, looping around portions of the stent members interconnecting the intersections.
A stent-graft comprising:
- a plurality of braided stent members intersecting one another at a plurality of locations;
- a covering disposed over said stent members;
- a continuous connecting member knotted at selected ones of said locations and passing through said covering and wrapping around said stent members, between said selected locations such that said stent members are fixed in a pivotal relationship to one another at said selected locations and said covering is fixed to said stent members at said selected locations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.