Patent ID: 8308761

Claim:
A method for binding biological tissues together, the biological tissues having a tissue temperature, the biological tissues also having a yield limit beyond which the biological tissues are irreversibly deformed, said method comprising: selecting a suitable binding component comprising an elongated body defining a body longitudinal axis, said body being made, at least in part, of a shape memory material; positioning said binding component in a binding configuration wherein said binding component biases said biological tissues in an opposite contacting relationship relative to each other; and after said positioning of said binding component, applying to said binding component a prestrain causing the generation of a prestrain force within an interval of from about 80 percent to about 95 percent of a yield force, said yield force corresponding to the yield limit of the biological tissues, said prestrain force also corresponding to a prestrain stress in said binding component, said prestrain stress having a magnitude between σ Ms and σ Mf at said tissue temperature; wherein said body has a composition, a configuration and dimensions such that an inflection point between an upper plateau of a force-displacement relationship of said binding component and a linear force-displacement relationship representing an elastic deformation of a stress-induced martensite phase in said binding component is coincident with said prestrain force and a displacement in said binding component corresponding to said prestrain.