Patent ID: 6964680
Filing Date: 2005-11-15
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. An expandable medical device comprising: a plurality of elongated beams, the plurality of elongated beans joined together to form substantially cylindrical elements which are expandable from cylinders having a first diameter to cylinders having a second diameter, the plurality of elongated beams having a beam width in a circumferential direction and wherein adjacent elongated beams form substantially V-shapes when the cylinders are at the second diameter; a plurality of flexible links interconnecting the substantially cylindrical elements; and a plurality of hinges connecting the elongated beams and positioned away from apexes of the substantially V-shapes, wherein deformation during expansion is confined substantially to the hinges and the flexible links, wherein the plurality of hinges each have a tapered portion such that an end of each hinge closer to the apex of the substantially V-shapes formed by the adjacent elongated beams has a width which is greater than a width of the hinge at an opposite end, and the tapered portion has a length longer than a non-tapered portion of the hinge.