Example medical devices and methods of making example medical devices are disclosed. An example medical device includes a frame configured to be secured to cardiac tissue, wherein the frame includes a fatigue resistant nickel-titanium alloy that is heat set at a temp in the range of 450-550 degrees Celsius.

There are super elastic NiTi materials for use as medical components, especially implantable medical components, and methods of fabricating such components to have desired R-phase characteristics in-vivo. Additionally, there are methods of processing a TiNi material to produce an implantable medical component by cold or warm working the TiNi material at least 15%; aging the cold or warm worked TiNi material under stress at between 300-700? C.; and further aging the TiNi material below 300? C. to produce desired R-phase characteristics. Additionally, there are methods of processing a TiNi material to produce a medical component by processing the TiNi material to produce a medical component that has a stress free M*s below a normal body temperature. Additionally, a TiNi material is used to produce a super elastic medical component from a tube, a sheet, a wire or a strip to have a stress free M*s below a normal body temperature.

A material engagement element sheet formed from a sheet material (10) incorporates a pattern of material engagement element slots (14), each slot containing an array of material engagement elements (20) which have a tapered distal section (30), a flange section (34) and a proximal section (32) which is attached to an edge of the slots in the sheet material. The material engagement element sheet material may be a single layer of shape memory material, or the sheet material may be a composite of different layers some of which may include pre-strained shape memory materials with distinguishable activation parameters. The material engagement element slot configuration allows for the simultaneous processing of the material engagement elements. The material engagement elements may be processed such that they are in a state that is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the material engagement element sheet. The configuration of the flexible base material and the pattern of the material engagement element slots may be used in order to manufacture various material engagement element devices including a material engagement element pad device (166), a cylindrical material engagement element device (104, 105), and a spherical material engagement element device (152).

The present invention relates to a ball game racket with strings that comprise at least one string comprising a superelastic material.

Medical instruments, particularly, endodontic instruments with unique limited memory characteristics, and methods for making such instruments. One embodiment includes heat treating an endodontic blank prior to forming a working portion of the endodontic instrument.

Metal ingots for forming single-crystal shape-memory alloys (SMAs) may be fabricated with high reliability and control by alloying thin layers of material together. In this improved method, a reactive layer (e.g., aluminum) is provided in thin flat layers between layers of other materials (e.g., copper and layers of nickel). When the stacked layers are vacuum heated in a crucible to the melting temperature of the reactive layer, it becomes reactive and chemically bonds to the other layers, and may form eutectics that, as the temperature is further increased, melt homogeneously and congruently at temperatures below the melting temperatures of copper and nickel. Oxidation and evaporation are greatly reduced compared to other methods of alloying, and loss of material from turbulence is minimized.

Processes for the production of nickel-titanium mill products are disclosed. A nickel-titanium alloy workpiece is cold worked at a temperature less than 500 C. The cold worked nickel-titanium alloy workpiece is hot isostatic pressed (HIP'ed).

Methods for modifying a physical characteristic of finished endodontic instruments made from one or more superelastic alloys is described which include heat treating one or more finished endodontic instruments in a salt bath for a specific time (e.g., from about four hours to about six hours), at a specified temperature (e.g., from about 475 C. to about 550 C.), and preferably at a specified pH range.

A copper alloy disclosed in the present description has a basic alloy composition represented by Cu.sub.100-(x+y)Sn.sub.xMn.sub.y (where 8x16 and 2y10 are satisfied), in which a main phase is a CuSn phase with Mn dissolved therein, and the CuSn phase undergoes martensitic transformation when heat-treated or worked.

Systems and methods for shifting a position of one or more optical elements are disclosed. In embodiment, a system may include a housing having a chamber formed therein, at least one non-linear crystal disposed in the chamber, the non-linear crystal configured to receive at least one incident signal and to convert a wavelength of at least a portion of the incident signal, and at least one shape memory alloy element disposed such that thermal or electrical energy applied to the shape memory alloy causes movement of the non-linear crystal.