Patent ID: 6669721
Filing Date: 2003-12-30
Classification: A61B,A61F

Abstract:
A thin-film device consisting of an expanse of sputtered thin film NiTi alloy adapted to be deployed at a selected site, comprisinga collapsible member, and attached to said member, an expanse of sputtered thin-film Niâ€”Ti shapememory alloy having a film thickness between about 0.5 to 150 microns, and characterized by (i) a martensitic state, (ii) an austenitic state in which the expanse assumes a preformed, expanded shape about the member, with such in its deployed condition, and (iii) a thin-film transition temperature at which the expanse undergoes a transition from its martensitic state to its austenitic state, wherein deployment of the device at a site having a temperature above the transition temperature is effective to place the expanse in its preformed shape.