Occlusion device combination of stent and mesh with diamond-shaped porosity

1. An occlusion device for occluding at least a portion of a body vessel in a human subject, comprising:

a generally tubular stent radially and circumferentially expandable from a compressed condition to an expanded condition for occlusion action within a body vessel, wherein the stent has a porosity in at least the expanded condition;

a generally tubular screen member associated with at least a portion of the stent, said screen member having a compressed, unexpanded condition and an expanded condition, said screen member being radially and circumferentially expandable with the stent from said compressed, unexpanded condition to said expanded condition, further comprising a plurality of substantially diamond-shaped cut-out openings that are diamond-shaped in both the compressed, unexpanded condition and in the expanded condition, wherein the screen member is a thin-film mesh from which the diamond-shaped openings had been cut and that has a porosity in the expanded condition less than the porosity of the stent in the expanded condition;

the mesh of the screen member at the compressed, unexpanded condition has a plurality of bridges at corners of the cut-out diamond-shaped openings, each bridge having four cut-out blunted corners, each blunted corner joining and spacing apart two adjacent struts that flank the blunted corner, each blunted corner has an amount of material of the mesh between its two spaced-apart struts at the location that each strut joins the bridge, the amount of blunted corner material at each of the four corners being wider than the combined width of the two adjacent struts joined to the bridge at each said blunted corner, the width of each strut of the mesh being between about 0.005 and 0.01 mm;

two of said four cut-out blunted corners are opposite each other and are lateral corners that join two adjacent spaced-apart struts, and each cut-out lateral corner is flattened or rounded in the compressed, unexpanded condition; and

the other two of said four cut-out blunted corners are opposite each other and are upper and lower corners respectively that join two adjacent spaced-apart struts positioned with respect to each other at an opening angle in their compressed, unexpanded condition of between about 20 and 35 degrees whereby the opening angle of each cut-out upper and lower corner is sharper than that of either cut-out lateral corner.

2. The occlusion device of claim 1 , wherein the screen member overlays at least a portion of the stent.

3. The occlusion device of claim 2 , further including an additional screen member having a plurality of diamond-shaped openings, and wherein the stent overlays said additional screen member.

4. The occlusion device of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the screen member is received within the stent.

5. The occlusion device of claim 4 , further including an additional stent, and wherein the screen member overlays at least a portion of said additional stent.

6. The occlusion device of claim 1 , wherein an edge of the screen member has a generally sinusoidal configuration.

7. The occlusion device of claim 1 , wherein said screen member has an opening-to-material ratio falling within the range of approximately 1.5:1 and approximately 4:1.

8. The occlusion device of claim 1 , wherein said screen member is substantially comprised of a material having shape memory properties.

9. The occlusion device of claim 8 , wherein said material having shape memory properties is nitinol.

10. The occlusion device of claim 9 , wherein said nitinol is a martensite thin film at human body temperature.

11. The occlusion device of claim 9 , wherein said nitinol is an austenite thin film at human body temperature.

12. The occlusion device of claim 1 , wherein said screen member is substantially comprised of a polymeric material.

13. An occlusion device for occluding at least a portion of a body vessel in a human subject, comprising:

A generally tubular stent radially and circumferentially expandable from a compressed condition to an expanded condition for occlusion action within a body vessel, wherein the stent has a porosity in at least the expanded condition;

a generally tubular screen member extending with and received on at least a portion of the stent, said screen member having a compressed, unexpanded condition and an expanded condition, said screen member being radially and circumferentially expandable with the stent from said compressed, unexpanded condition to said expanded condition, the screen member further comprising a plurality of substantially diamond-shaped cut-out openings in both the compressed, unexpanded condition and in the expanded condition, wherein the screen member is a thin-film mesh from which the diamond-shaped openings had been cut and that has a porosity in the expanded condition less than the porosity of the stent in the expanded condition;

the mesh of the screen member at the compressed, unexpanded condition has a plurality of bridges at corners of the cut-out diamond-shaped openings, each bridge having four cut-out blunted corners, each blunted corner joining and spacing apart two struts that flank the blunted corner, each blunted corner has an amount of material of the mesh between its two spaced-apart struts at the that each strut joins the bridge, the amount of blunted corner material at each of the four corners being wider than the combined width of the two adjacent struts joined to the bridge at each said blunted corner, the width of each strut of the mesh being between about 0.005 and 0.01 mm;

two of said four cut-out blunted corners are opposite each other and are lateral corners that join two adjacent spaced-apart struts, and each cut-out lateral corner is flattened or rounded in the compressed, unexpanded condition;

the other two of said four cut-out blunted corners are opposite each other and are upper and lower corners respectively that join two adjacent spaced-apart struts positioned with respect to each other at an opening angle in their compressed, unexpanded condition of between about 20 and 35 degrees whereby the opening angle of each cut-out upper and lower corner is sharper than that of either cut-out lateral corner; and

said screen member is comprised of a nitinol material and has an opening-to-material ratio falling within the range of approximately 1.5:1 and approximately 4:1.

14. The occlusion device of claim 13 , wherein an edge of the screen member has a generally sinusoidal configuration.

15. The occlusion device of claim 13 , wherein said screen member diamond-shaped openings impart a porosity to said screen member of between about 60 percent and 80 percent.

16. The occlusion device of claim 13 , wherein said nitinol is a martensite thin film at human body temperature.

17. The occlusion device of claim 13 , wherein said nitinol is an austenite thin film at human body temperature.

18. An occlusion device for occluding at least a portion of a body vessel in a human subject, comprising:

a generally tubular stent radially expandable from a compressed condition to an expanded condition for occlusion action within a body vessel, wherein the stent has a porosity in at least the expanded condition;

a generally tubular inner screen member at least partially received within the stent, said screen member having a compressed, unexpanded condition and an expanded condition, said screen member being radially and circumferentially expandable with the stent from said compressed, unexpanded condition to said expanded condition, the screen member being a thin-film mesh from which diamond-shaped openings had been cut and having a plurality of the cut-out substantially diamond-shaped openings in both the compressed, unexpanded condition and in the expanded condition;

a generally tubular outer screen member overlaying at least a portion of the stent and radially and circumferentially expandable from a compressed, unexpanded condition to an expanded condition with the stent, the screen member being a thin-film mesh from which diamond-shaped openings had been cut and having a plurality of the cut-out substantially diamond-shaped openings in both the compressed, unexpanded condition and in the expanded condition, wherein at least one of the screen members has a porosity in the expanded condition less than the porosity of the stent in the expanded condition;

the mesh of each of the inner and outer screen members at the compressed, unexpanded condition has a plurality of bridges at corners of the cut-out diamond-shaped openings, each bridge having four cut-out blunted corners, each blunted corner joining and spacing apart two adjacent struts that flank the blunted corner, each blunted corner has an amount of material of the mesh between its two spaced-apart struts at the location that each strut joins the bridge, the amount of blunted corner material at each of the four corners being wider than the combined width of the two adjacent struts joined to the bridge at each said blunted corner, the width of each strut of the mesh being between about 0.005 and 0.01 mm;

two of said four cut-out blunted corners are opposite each other and are lateral corners that join two adjacent spaced-apart struts, and each cut-out lateral corner is flattened or rounded in the compressed, unexpanded condition; and

the other two of said four cut-out blunted corners are opposite each other and are upper and lower corners respectively that join two adjacent spaced-apart struts positioned with respect to each other at an opening angle in their compressed, unexpanded condition of between about 20 and 35 degrees whereby the opening angle of each cut-out upper and lower corner is sharper than that of either cut-out lateral corner.

19. The occlusion device of claim 18 , wherein each screen member has an edge of a generally sinusoidal configuration.

20. The occlusion device of claim 18 , wherein each said screen member has an opening-to-material ratio falling within the range of approximately 1.5:1 and approximately 4:1.

21. The occlusion device of claim 18 , wherein said screen members are substantially comprised of a material having superelastic properties.

22. The occlusion device of claim 21 , wherein said material having superelastic properties is nitinol.