Patent ID: 7662163

Claim:
A stiffened balloon apparatus for use in passages in the human body that convey body fluids comprising: an expandable stiffened balloon having one or more solid, elongate, longitudinally continuous stiffening members permanently attached to said balloon, said stiffening members being comprised of a material stiffer than the material of said balloon and being disposed along longitudinal perimeters of said balloon, wherein at least one of the stiffening members includes a pivot portion at which said stiffening member may flex or pivot to facilitate navigation of the stiffened balloon through a curved passage, said pivot portion comprising a localized narrowed area of said stiffening member constituting a minor fraction of the length of said stiffening member at which the stiffening member flexes or pivots and being characterized by a relative absence of stiffener material in a radially outward-most part thereof and a smaller cross-sectional area relative to the cross-sectional areas of the stiffening member adjacent to said localized narrowed area.