| 摘要 |
A method for preparing a medical device comprising: (1) treating an ionically cross-linked hydrogel to strip a substantial amount of the ionic cross-links while retaining the hydrogel in a desired shape; and (2) ionically re-cross-linking the treated hydrogel of step (1) while retaining the hydrogel in the desired shape. In an exemplary embodiment, a ureteral stent is made by mounting a length of extruded calcium or barium alginate tubing onto a shaping jig and performing secondary shaping to form coil-shaped ends by soaking the mounted tubing in a stirred potassium chloride bath, and then soaking it in a calcium chloride bath. The ends readily return after elastic deformation to their coil shapes, with the stent having a permanent memory imposed by the secondary shaping.
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