Patent ID: 11957352
Assignee: CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. An apparatus comprising:
(a) at least one link; and
(b) a plurality of beads joined using the at least one link and configured to be arranged in an annular arrangement, wherein the plurality of beads include at least first, second, and third beads, wherein each bead of the plurality of beads includes at least one magnet, wherein the annular arrangement is sized and configured to form a loop around an anatomical structure in a patient, wherein the loop is configured to move between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, wherein the loop in the contracted configuration is configured to prevent fluid flow through the anatomical structure, wherein the loop in the expanded configuration is configured to permit fluid flow through the anatomical structure, wherein the magnets are configured to magnetically bias the loop toward the contracted configuration;
wherein adjacent beads of the plurality of beads are magnetically attracted together at a plurality of magnetic interfaces that include first and second magnetic interfaces, wherein the first magnetic interface has a first magnetic field strength, wherein the second magnetic interface has a second magnetic field strength that is less than the first magnetic field strength so that the beads forming the second interface are configured to separate prior to the beads forming the first interface when the loop moves from the contracted configuration to the expanded configuration, thereby providing uniform radial expansion of the loop,
wherein when the loop is in the contracted configuration, the first bead is configured to abut the second bead at the first interface and the second bead is configured to abut the third bead at the second interface,
wherein when the loop is in an intermediate configuration, the first and second beads are configured to remain in abutting contact while the second and third beads are configured to be spaced apart from one another, and
wherein when the loop is in the expanded configuration, the first bead is configured to be spaced from the second bead and the second bead is configured to be spaced from the third bead.