Patent ID: 9205575
Filing Date: 2015-12-08
Classification: B29C,B29L

Abstract:
1. A method of making a stent comprising: providing a polymer tube having a glass transition temperature (Tg); annealing the polymer tube at a temperature range of Tg−15° C. to Tg−5° C., wherein the polymer tube is annealed for a selected annealing time greater than 1 min, wherein the annealing increases the nucleation density of the polymer tube; cooling the polymer tube to below 30° C. at the end of the selected annealing time; followed by heating and radially expanding the polymer tube, wherein the cooling of the polymer tube to below 30° C. is prior to the heating and the radially expanding, wherein the radial expansion induces crystallization in the polymer tube, wherein the increase in nucleation density due to the annealing results in the formation of a higher crystallite density and a decrease in the size of the crystallites as compared to a tube that has not been annealed; and fabricating a stent scaffolding from the expanded polymer tube.