Patent ID: 7094254

Claim:
A method of reducing intimal hyperplasia at an artery or a blood vessel location, comprising the steps of permanently implanting and dilating dilation implant with a blood flow deflector that increases a blood flow shear rate at a blood/wall interface along a service location of a target artery or blood vessel, the deflector being selected based on a determination of a deflector size necessary to provide a predetermined blood flow shear rate increase sufficient for reducing intimal hyperplasia at the service location, the deflector being permanently implanted at the service location, and further comprising the step of selecting a dilation implant having a deflector comprising a coil spring and having attached to the coil spring, at least at each of two ends of the coil spring and along points, between the two ends, wires being radially expansible from a first diameter corresponding to a diameter of coil spring to a second larger diameter corresponding to a dilated diameter, the wires adapted to bear, in a service position, on blood/wall interface and to maintain the coil spring centered in the artery or blood vessel, the coil spring having a longitudinal interior passage adapted to be mounted to an angioplasty catheter on a wire guide.