Medical balloon
Low polymer stress balloons are made by expanding a tube radially while allowing the ends of the tube to move axially in response to the radial expansion.
1 - 38 . (canceled)
39 . A medical balloon comprising a block copolymer having a cylindrically-shaped region exhibiting a birefringence pattern of substantially parallel lines before and after an exposure to temperatures of about 32° C. to about 60° C.
40 . The balloon of claim 39 , wherein the cylindrically-shaped region has a length between about 1.5 cm and about 14 cm.
41 . The balloon of claim 39 , wherein the cylindrically-shaped region has an outer diameter between about 1 mm and about 12 mm.
42 . The balloon of claim 39 , formed of a polymer having regions of different hardness.
43 . The balloon of claim 39 , wherein the block copolymer includes hard segments and soft segments.
44 . The balloon of claim 39 , wherein the block copolymer comprises a material selected from a group consisting of a polyether-ester elastomer, a polyester elastomer, and a polyether block amide.
45 . The balloon of claim 39 , wherein the block copolymer comprises a polyether-ester elastomer.
46 . The balloon of claim 39 , comprising a material selected from a group consisting of a polyester and a polyamide.
47 . The balloon of claim 39 , formed of multiple layers.
48 . The balloon of claim 47 , formed of multiple coextruded layers having different hardnesses.