| abstract |
Disclosed herewithin is an apparatus for fabricating a stent which involves processing a tubular member whereby no connection points to join the edges of a flat pattern are necessary. The apparatus includes a means for mounting a tubular member coated with a photosensitive material, a light source, and a mask or film that exposes a portion of the photosensitive material. This apparatus can be used in conjunction with a process which includes the steps of a) removing contaminates from a tubular member, b) coating the outside surface of the tubular member with a photo-sensitive resist material, c) placing the tubular member in an apparatus designed to simultaneously rotate the tubular member while passing a specially configured photographic frame negative between a light source and the tubular member, thereby exposing a specified pattern of light to the resist coated tubular member, d) exposing the outside surface of the tubular member to a photoresist developer for a specified period of time, e) rinsing the excess developer and uncured resist from the outside surface of the tubular member, f) treating the tubular member with a electro-chemical process to remove uncovered metal. This apparatus and method can be employed to produce an virtually unlimited number of stent designs and configurations. By modifying the photographic frame negative, the same process can be employed to fabricate various stent designs from a tubular structure. |