Patent ID: 7632303
Filing Date: 2009-12-15
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. A medical device for delivery to, or deployment within, a body vessel of a mammalian body, comprising: a structural element formed from a single piece of superelastic material and having a restrained shape, a deployed shape and an adjustable transition temperature wherein the structural element transitions between a relatively malleable phase and a relatively stiff phase, the structural element including: a first portion forming part of the structural element and having a transition temperature adjusted so as to cause the first portion to be in the relatively stiff phase when the structural element is subjected to the body temperature of the mammalian body; and a second portion forming part of the structural element and having a transition temperature adjusted so as to cause the second portion to be in the relatively malleable phase when the structural element is subjected to the body temperature of the mammalian body.