Patent ID: 9532890
Date: 2017-01-03
CPC Classifications: A61F,A61L

Claim:
1. An implantable, geometrically expandable, generally tubular, nickel-titanium medical device, comprising: a. a plurality of circumferentially self-expansible members interconnected by a plurality of first hinge regions; b. a plurality of interconnecting members interconnecting adjacent pairs of circumferentially self-expansible members, the plurality of interconnecting members having a first portion and a second portion comprising a greater part of the interconnecting member than a second hinge member disposed between the first and second portions, the first and second portions being oblique to the second hinge member at a point immediately adjacent to a junction between the second hinge member and either the first or the second portions, wherein the majority of the second hinge member is martensitic in vivo and the first and second portions are austensitic in vivo; c. where each of the plurality of first hinge regions permits circumferential expansion of the device by at least one of elastic or pseudoelastic deformation in vivo; and d. where each of the plurality of second hinge regions is capable of deforming by at least one of plastic or pseudoplastic deformation along a longitudinal axis of the device in vivo under the influence of a flexing load.