Patent ID: 6479000
Filing Date: 2002-11-12
Classification: A61F,A61M

Abstract:
A method for producing a shaped article, for use within a patient's urinary tract for blocking the flow of urine therein, said method comprising:(a) providing an inner member, at least a portion of said inner member having a diameter less than that of an undilated mammalian urethra; (b) forming a shaped structure on said inner member by applying a residual coating of a bond-preventing agent onto at least a portion of said inner member, and shaping said residual coating into at least a plurality of continuous sections, each of said plurality of continuous sections including at least a portion of a diameter at least as great as that of an undilated mammalian urethra, said inner member and said residual coating defining an intermediate structure, wherein said intermediate structure is defined by a proximal and a distal region wherein said proximal region has a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of said distal region; and (c) coating the intermediate structure with a liquid to form a shaped overcoat layer having a shape retaining memory, wherein the shape of the overcoat layer results from the shape of said residual coating of said bond-preventing agent; the shaped overcoat layer and the inner member defining a deformable body member being adapted for at least partial insertion into at least the urethra, the body member including a deformable fluid filled cavity having the residual coating therein; the cavity extending along the inner member and having a proximal end and a distal end, at least a portion of the shaped article having an at rest diameter greater than that of the undilated mammalian urethra, the shaped article including a distally positioned bulbous portion and a proximally positioned sleeve portion, a diameter of the bulbous portion at its widest point being greater than a diameter of the sleeve portion.