Primarily niobium stent
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorsTorsten Scheuermann, Eckhard Alt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a process of fabricating a stent composed primarily of niobium alloyed with a trace amount of zirconium, tantalum, or titanium for hardening, the stent is annealed under vacuum in a substantially oxygen-free environment. The vacuum is preferably maintained at pressure less than 10−4 millibars, oxygen-content less than about 80 parts per million, and the annealing temperature exceeds 400° C. for at least one hour, and is preferably kept in a range from about 1100-1200° C. for several hours. This may be followed by applying a surface layer of oxide, such as iridium oxide, with a thickness of 299-300 nm to the stent.
Claims8
A process for fabricating a stent comprising:
- producing a stent from a tube composed principally of niobium with a trace of additional metal for alloy formation and reinforcement, the production of the stent including a step of annealing the tube under vacuum in a substantially oxygen-free environment, wherein producing the stent comprises mechanical and chemical finishing of the tube, wherein the stent comprises a network of interconnected struts.
A process for fabricating a stent comprising:
- producing a stent from a tube composed principally of niobium with a trace of additional metal for alloy formation and reinforcement, the production of the stent including a step of annealing the tube under vacuum in a substantially oxygen-free environment and a post-annealing step of at least partially coating the stent surface with a material to inhibit closure of a central lumen at a site of stent implant in a body, wherein said coating material is titanium nitrate.
A process for fabricating a stent comprising:
- producing a stent from a tube composed principally of niobium with a trace of additional metal for alloy formation and reinforcement, the production of the stent including a step of annealing the tube under vacuum in a substantially oxygen-free environment, wherein the process includes keeping the stent wrapped in a material having affinity for oxygen during the production of the stent under vacuum to reduce oxygen entry into the stent tubing, wherein the stent comprises a network of interconnected struts.
A process for fabricating a stent comprising:
- producing a stent from a tube composed principally of niobium with a trace of additional metal for alloy formation and reinforcement, the production of the stent including a step of annealing the tube under vacuum in a substantially oxygen-free environment, wherein the stent comprises a network of interconnected struts, wherein producing the stent comprises laser cutting of the tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.