Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.

Abbott Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.

Brian Lee Pelton

John Francis Boylan

A radiopaque nitinol stent for implantation in a body lumen is disclosed. The stent is made from a superelastic alloy such as nickel-titanium or nitinol, and includes a ternary element including tungsten. The added tungsten in specified amounts improve the radiopacity of the nitinol stent comparable to that of a stainless steel stent of the same strut pattern coated with a thin layer of gold. Furthermore, the nitinol stent has improved radiopacity yet retains its superelastic and shape memory behavior and further maintains a thin strut/wall thickness for high flexibility.

Thermoelastic and superelastic NI-TI-W alloy

Thermoelastic and superelastic Ni&#x2014;Ti&#x2014;W alloy

Thermoelastic and superelastic Ni-Ti-W alloy

A medical device such as a stent made from single or double-butted tubing is disclosed. The butted tubing may be made from stainless steel or a nickel-titanium (nitinol) alloy. The butted tubing is created by thinning the material in between the ends of the tube through machining, drawing, cold working, laser cutting, or chemical etching. A strut pattern for a stent is laser cut into the butted tubing. The strut pattern for the stent includes rings connected by links. The end rings of the stent coincide with the double-butted ends of the tubing thereby increasing the hoop strength of those end rings.

Double-butted superelastic nitinol tubing

A stent contracting apparatus configured with retractable grippers to engage the struts of a self-expanding stent to hold the stent in a collapsed position and to release the stent within a body lumen. The grippers of the stent contracting apparatus are moveable between a retracted and deployed position by an actuating mechanism which includes at least one control wire that extends outside the body lumen. A post-dilatation expandable member allows a physician to adjust the positioning of the expanded stent within the lumen if necessary.

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Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

Brian Lee Pelton