Method and apparatus for making intraluminal implants and construction particularly useful in such method and apparatus

摘要

A method of and an apparatus for making a braided intraluminal implant, by providing a mandrel having at least one small-diameter section joined at least at one end to a large-diameter section; interweaving a plurality of filaments to form a tubular braid enclosing at least a part of the small-diameter section and at least a part of the large-diameter section; and cutting the tubular braid to produce a tubular braid segment having outwardly flared ends at its opposite ends. One flared end is produced by the large-diameter section of the mandrel, and the opposite outwardly flared end may be produced either by another large-diameter section of the mandrel, or by cutting the tubular braid at a portion formed by the small-diameter section of the mandrel but at a location wherein the release of stresses in the filaments inherently produces an outward flaring of the braid at that end.