Patent ID: 7547321
Filing Date: 2009-06-16
Classification: A61F,A61L,A61P

Abstract:
1. A medical appliance for placement within and removal from a portion of the anatomy of a patient, the appliance comprising: a scaffolding, the scaffolding configured to define a substantially cylindrical member having a distal end and a proximal end and extending longitudinally there between, forming a lumen there through, such that when pressure is exerted along varying points of the longitudinal extension of the appliance, the appliance does not undesirably foreshorten or elongate, said scaffolding comprising: a plurality of expandable circumferential bands formed of struts having interconnected ends defining a series of alternating peaks and valleys, said peaks and valleys of adjacent circumferential bands being in-phase except for at least one out-of-phase pair of circumferential bands, and a plurality of flexible connectors extending between each pair of the circumferential bands, wherein at least one set of the flexible connectors extends between and connects at least one pair of peaks or one pair of valleys of the out-of-phase pair of circumferential bands, wherein, each of the plurality of connectors are spaced apart from one another by at least one pair of peaks and one pair of valleys of adjacent circumferential bands, and further wherein the distal end of the cylindrical member is defined by a circumferential band connected to flexible connectors that extend only in the proximal direction, and the proximal end of the cylindrical member is defined by a circumferential band connected to flexible connectors that extend only in the distal direction.