Embedded electroactive polymer structures for use in medical devices
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorsTracee Eidenschink, Jan Weber, Karl A. Jagger, Matt Heidner
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Abstract
Medical devices or components thereof having electroactive polymer actuators embedded within at least a portion of the device of component thereof, and novel electroactive polymer actuators formed with a conductive substrate layer and an electroactive polymer layer, the electroactive polymer actuated upon application of a voltage to surrounding liquid electrolyte, the actuators may be embedded within an inert polymer matrix material, or within solid polyelectrolyte matrix material.
Claims4
A catheter assembly, the catheter assembly comprising a retractable sheath and a stent, the sheath having a longitudinal axis and formed from a matrix material, and embedded within at least a portion of the matrix material helically about the longitudinal axis, is an electroactive polymer actuator, wherein the matrix material is a solid polyelectrolyte or a non-active polymer material, the sheath is disposed about the stent and whereupon actuation of the electroactive polymer actuator, the sheath radially expands from a first diameter to a second diameter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.