The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 04, 1997
Filed:
Apr. 24, 1996
Samuel Anthony Thompson, Wilmington, DE (US);
Hercules Incorporated, Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
Elastically deformable medical devices, such as stents, having improved speed and degree of shape recovery are made by treating shaped hydrogels containing a polymer with a solution containing at least one elasticity agent, which may be nonionic or ionic. For example, polysaccharide-based hydrogels, such as barium alginate, are formed into tubing, shaped into pigtail stents, and exposed to an aqueous solution containing an elasticity agent such as potassium ions, sodium ions, sorbitol, glucose, citric acid, mannitol, dulcitol, or glycerol. The solution may also contain a crosslinking agent, such as calcium ions, to achieve the desired degree of elasticity.