Materials for medical implants and occlusive devices

摘要

An embodiment is a swellable medical device that swells after introduction into a patient to occlude a lumen or void in a patient. The device may be anisotropically swellable so that it swells unequally in some dimensions to create an improved fit of the device into the patient. Anisotropically swellable materials are also described. Further, materials and methods for removing a biocompatible hydrogel from a patient by a metal-catalyzed oxidative-reductive reaction are described. Other embodiments are directed to devices that are shrinkable, dissolvable, or otherwise removable by exposure to deionized water or hypertonic solutions. Certain other embodiments are materials and methods for making and using chelation-resistant materials crosslinked by insoluble metal salts.