Patent ID: 8377091

Claim:
A device for occlusion of a lumen in an animal comprising: a narrow, elongated, flexible expansile element comprising a hydrogel configured to expand upon contact with an aqueous liquid at a physiological pH, wherein the hydrogel comprises a reaction product of: a monomer having a pH sensitive ionizable functional group and an ethylenically unsaturated moiety; a polyether macromer selected from poly(ethylene glycol) di-acrylamide, poly(ethylene glycol) di-acrylate, poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylamide, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof; and a polymerization initiator; and wherein a cylindrical sample of the hydrogel having a diameter of about 0.02 inches and a length of about 1 inch has an unexpanded bending resistance of about 0.1 mg to about 50 mg; and a flexible carrier member, composed of a non-hydrogel material, configured to assist the delivery of the expansile element through a body lumen for occlusion of the lumen by expansion of the expansile element.