| 摘要 |
<p>A compliant membrane is positioned between the interior of an expandable balloon and the inner member of a catheter. The membrane provides a compliant substrate onto which a stent is crimped onto the balloon over the area of the membrane. The compliant membrane effectively retains the stent on the catheter while the stent is being delivered through the vasculature. The retaining force from using a compliant membrane can be obtained by partially filling apertures as described. However, an enhanced retaining force is obtained without this effect. The membrane allows a higher normal force between the stent and balloon because of its compliance. A stent cannot be tightly crimped onto a rigid surface or tube because the elastic recoil of the stent prevents this. The compliant membrane has enough give to compensate for this small but significant elastic recoil. Essentially, the stent is squeezed onto the balloon/membrane slightly more than the final result to obtain a good gripping force. The membrane acts like a spring so that thicker membranes give higher forces because they allow the 'spring' to deform more.</p> |
