초록 ▼

An expandable stent for use within a body lumen that is coated with a radiation-absorbing material and that is not plastically expandable at normal body temperatures but is expandable at a temperature between about 38° C. to 60° C. following exposure to radiation. The invention also relates to a met

An expandable stent for use within a body lumen that is coated with a radiation-absorbing material and that is not plastically expandable at normal body temperatures but is expandable at a temperature between about 38° C. to 60° C. following exposure to radiation. The invention also relates to a method of deploying such a stent within the body.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An expandable, biodegradable stent for use within a body lumen comprising a hollow tube coated with a radiation-absorbing coating that, in unexpanded form, is of a first diameter sufficient to be retained upon a balloon catheter for placement within the body lumen, that is not plastically expanda

1. An expandable, biodegradable stent for use within a body lumen comprising a hollow tube coated with a radiation-absorbing coating that, in unexpanded form, is of a first diameter sufficient to be retained upon a balloon catheter for placement within the body lumen, that is not plastically expandable at normal body temperatures, and that is expandable using thermo-mechanical means at a temperature between about 38° to 60° C. when the balloon catheter is inflated to a second diameter sufficient to be retained within the body lumen. 2. The stent of claim 1, wherein the hollow tube comprises a polymer, copolymer, or polymer blend containing one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of poly(D,L-lactide), poly(glycolide), poly(L-lactide), poly(&egr;-caprolactone), and poly(ethylene glycol).3. The stent of claim 1, wherein the radiation-absorbing coating comprises a chromophore selected from the group consisting of indocyanine green, vital blue, carbon black and methylene blue.4. The stent of claim 3, wherein the radiation-absorbing coating further comprises a biodegradable coating material.5. The stent of claim 4, wherein the biodegradable coating material comprises a polymer, copolymer, or polymer blend containing one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of poly(D,L-lactide), poly(glycolide), poly(L-lactide), poly(&egr;-caprolactone), and poly(ethylene glycol).6. The stent of claim 4, wherein the biodegradable coating material further comprises a drug.7. The stent of claim 6, wherein the drug is selected from the group consisting of antithrombotics, anticoagulants, antimitogens, antimitotoxins, antisense oligonucleotides, gene therapy vehicles, nitric oxide, photo-activated agents, growth factors and inhibitors, hirudin, hirugen, HIRULOG, PPACK, D-FPRCH2CL, peptide-based inhibitors, heparin and warfarin.8. The stent of claim 1, wherein the tube is imperforate.9. The stent of claim 1, wherein the tube is perforated.