Patent ID: 8691136

Claim:
A method for the manufacture of a device suitable for implantation in a living being, said method comprising the steps of: a. providing a polymer slug comprising a polymer material; b. providing a die cavity tooling and ram press, wherein said die cavity tooling defines a die shape having a plurality of zones of varying cross-section, and wherein said polymer slug has a polymeric molecular structure; c. placing said polymer slug between said ram press and a first die cavity tooling; d. heating at least said polymer slug to a temperature in a range between the glass transition temperature and the melting temperature; e. after said heating, actuating said ram press along an axis in order to apply pressure upon said polymer slug, thereby deforming said polymer slug and forcing said polymer slug to conform to said first die cavity shape, wherein said polymer slug is formed into a first device having zones of varying cross section; f. removing said first device from said die cavity tooling; g. placing said first device between a ram press and a second die cavity tooling whose die cavity comprises zones of cross-sections that are reduced relative to those of said first die cavity; h. at a temperature in a range between the glass transition temperature and the melting temperature of the device, actuating said ram press along an axis in order to apply pressure upon said first device, thereby deforming said first device and forcing said polymer of said first device to conform to said second die cavity shape, wherein said polymer slug is formed into a second device having zones of varying cross section, wherein said deforming causes an alignment of said polymeric molecular structure, and further wherein at least one zone undergoes a greater degree of deformation and elongation than a different zone, thereby resulting in said first device being formed into a second device comprising zones of variable degrees of alignment of the polymer molecular structure, and zones of varying cross section, and specifically where a zone of smaller cross section has a greater degree of alignment of the polymer molecular structure than that polymer molecular structure in a zone of larger cross section; and i. removing said second device from said second die cavity tooling.