Guidewires and thin-film catheter-sheaths, fabricated using vacuum deposition techniques, which are monolayer or plural-layer members having ultra-thin wall thicknesses to provide very-low profile delivery assemblies for introduction and delivery of endoluminal devices.

A method of delivering a percutaneous heart valve is disclosed. The percutaneous heart valve includes an expandable frame having a plurality of cells and a valve seated inside the expandable frame. The heart valve also includes a proximal anchoring portion and a distal anchoring portion having a plurality of distal anchors. After expansion, the proximal anchoring portion extends distally and a portion of each distal anchor extends proximally. A portion of each distal anchor is positioned radially outwardly from the frame and extends in a direction that is substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis. Proximal portions of the distal anchors are preferably spaced apart by less than two cell lengths from a distal portion of the proximal anchoring portion. During deployment, radial expansion of the frame draws the proximal anchoring portion and the distal anchors into closer proximity with body tissue positioned therebetween.

An expandable stent for implanting in a body lumen, such as a coronary artery, peripheral artery, or other body lumen. In one aspect, the stent includes a butterfly pattern to which connecting links are attached. In another aspect, the stent embodies a non-directional structure.

A cylindrical indwelling medical device is formed by connecting a plurality of struts in a circumferential direction of the device in such a way to share a rib in an axial direction in neighboring struts to form annular or spiral columns of struts and connecting the columns of struts in the axial direction via links. Each strut has at least one set of strut pieces providing a bistable structure for supporting a load from reducing a diameter of the indwelling medical device and portions for inducing snap-through buckling deformation. load is in a direction preventing reverse snap-through buckling deformation to hold an expanded diameter state of the device. After the indwelling medical device with its diameter reduced has been introduced into a luminal organ and has expanded its diameter to indwell there, the device can resist sufficiently against the reduction in diameter, thus maintaining the expanded diameter state of the device.

Bioabsorbable scaffolds having high crush recoverability, high fracture resistance, and reduced or no recoil due to self expanding properties at physiological conditions are disclosed. The scaffolds are made from a random copolymer of PLLA and a rubbery polymer such as polycaprolactone.

This invention provides for a radially expandable stent having superior strength and reduced foreshortening properties. The stents have a mixed configuration of straight and arcuate connector segments that serve to join annular segments that make up the body of the stent. Surprisingly the described mixed configuration provides superior resistance to flip deformation while maintaining desired flexibility.

A stent suitable for deployment in a blood vessel to support at least part of an internal wall of the blood vessel comprises a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart annular elements, and a plurality of connecting elements to connect adjacent annular elements. Each connecting element is circumferentially offset from the previous connecting element. Upon application of a load to the stent, the stent moves from an unloaded configuration to a loaded configuration. In the unloaded configuration the longitudinal axis of the stent is straight, and the stent is cylindrically shaped. In the loaded configuration the longitudinal axis of the stent is curved in three-dimensional space, and the stent is helically shaped.

Thin-film mesh for medical devices and related methods are provided. The thin-film mesh may include slits to be expanded into pores, and the expanded thin-film mesh may be used as a cover for a stent device. The thin-film mesh has a tube-shape and the slits may be angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the tube-shape thin-film mesh. The angled slits allow for the thin-film mesh to expand in multiple dimensions, including along the longitudinal axis and along the circumferential direction of the tube-shape thin-film mesh. The slits may be provided in diagonal rows arranged in longitudinal columns. Longitudinal columns of different types of slits may be arranged along the circumferential direction on the tube-shape thin-film mesh to form a zig-zag pattern of slits. The thin-film mesh may be formed from thin-film Nitinol (TFN) and may be fabricated via sputter deposition on a micropatterned wafer.

Apparatus and methods are described including implanting an aortic pressure-loss-reduction device in a subject's ascending aorta. A frame of the device includes a first set of sinusoidal struts disposed between a downstream end of an upstream anchor and an upstream end of the intermediate portion, the sinusoidal struts being shaped to form a folded portion between the downstream end of the upstream anchor and the upstream end of the intermediate portion. The frame includes a second set of sinusoidal struts disposed between an upstream end of a downstream anchor and a downstream end of the intermediate portion, the sinusoidal struts being shaped to form a folded portion between the upstream end of the downstream anchor and the downstream end of the intermediate portion. Other applications are also described.