SHAPE MEMORY LOCKING MECHANISM FOR INTRAVASCULAR STENT

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a locking mechanism for a stent capable of expanding from a small diameter rolled on a balloon to an enlarged diameter for the implantation into a region of disease without the risk of damaging engagement teeth or the ununiform arrangement of the teeth such as that only one couple of teeth are engaged with each other while the others are not in engagement. SOLUTION: A locking mechanism comprises an intravascular stent formed from a flat sheet and having a first edge 40 and a second edge 42; a longitudinal slot 48 formed in edge 40; and a plurality of teeth 50 positioned along a third and a fourth edges 44, 46 for interlocking engagement with slot 48. The teeth are made of a shape memory material or a superelastic material. The teeth 50 are locked into engagement with the slot 48 so that the stent can be rolled into a cylindrical configuration and when expanded to an enlarged diameter the teeth 50 interlock with the slot.