Method of making a stent
AssigneeMedtronic Vascular, Inc.
InventorSyamala Rani Pulugurtha
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of making a stent includes a three-dimensional printer receiving a dataset corresponding to a three-dimensional precursor stent. The three-dimensional printer forms a precursor stent. The precursor stent comprises a plurality of bands disposed adjacent to each other, wherein each band comprises a plurality of struts connected by a plurality of crowns, and a plurality of connectors connecting each band to an adjacent band. The precursor stent is processed to remove a selected number of the plurality of connectors between adjacent bands such that at least one connector between each set of adjacent bands is removed. In an embodiment, only one connector remains between each adjacent band after the selected number of connectors have been removed.
Claims19
A method of making a stent comprising the steps of:
- receiving a dataset corresponding to a three-dimensional precursor stent;
- forming a precursor stent using three-dimensional printing, wherein the precursor stent comprises a plurality of bands disposed adjacent to each other, wherein each band comprises a plurality of struts connected by a plurality of crowns, and a plurality of connectors connecting each band to an adjacent band;
- processing the precursor stent to remove a selected number of the plurality of connectors between adjacent bands such that at least one connector between each set of adjacent bands is removed and a gap is formed between the crowns of adjacent bands where the selected number of the plurality of connectors were removed, wherein the selected number of the plurality of connectors are thinner than the connectors not removed.
A method of making a stent comprising the steps of:
- receiving a dataset corresponding to a three-dimensional stent;
- forming a precursor stent using three-dimensional printing, wherein the precursor stent comprises a plurality of bands disposed adjacent to each other, wherein each band comprises a plurality of struts connected by a plurality of crowns, and wherein each crown of each band is attached to a corresponding crown of an adjacent band by a connector such that the precursor stent includes a plurality of first connectors made from a first material which are configured to remain and a plurality of second connectors made from a second material which are configured to be removed, wherein the first material and the second material are different;
- processing the precursor stent to remove the plurality of second connectors without adversely affecting the bands and the plurality of first connectors.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.