Method for forming a tubular medical device

1. A method for forming a medical device comprising the steps of:

a) forming a rod or tube having a surface and an outer cross-sectional area, said rod or tube including a metal alloy that is formed of over 50 weight percent of a solid solution of molybdenum and rhenium or tungsten and tantalum;

b) drawing down said outer cross-sectional area of said rod or tube by a reducing mechanism;

c) annealing said rod or tube at an annealing temperature in an oxygen reducing environment or inert environment after said rod or tube has been drawn down;

d) drawing down said cross-sectional area of said rod or tube by the reducing mechanism after said rod or tube has been annealed; and,

e) annealing said rod or tube at least one additional time at an annealing temperature that is a lower temperature than at least one annealing temperature of a previous annealing of said rod or tube.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said step of forming said rod or tube includes a process of isostatically pressing metal powder together and subsequently sintering said metal power to form said rod or tube in a controlled atmosphere, said rod or tube having an average density of about 0.7-0.95 a minimum theoretical density of said metal alloy, said rod or tube have an average density of about 12-14 gm/cc, said controlled atmosphere including an inert atmosphere, an oxygen reducing atmosphere, or a vacuum.

3. The method as defined in claim 2 , wherein said tube is formed by gun drilling, EDM cutting, or combinations thereof a passageway at least partially through a longitudinal length of said rod.

4. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said step of forming said rod or tube includes a) forming an ingot of metal, b) extruding said ingot through a die to form a rod, c) hollowing out said rod to form a passageway at least partially through a longitudinal length of said rod, and d) polishing a surface of said passageway.

5. The method as defined in claim 4 , wherein said step of hollowing includes gun drilling, EDM cutting, or combinations thereof said rod to form said passageway.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said metal alloy includes over 50 weight percent rhenium plus molybdenum, and up to about 1 weight percent additional metal, said additional metal including a metal selected from the group consisting of titanium, yttrium, zirconium, or mixtures thereof.

7. The method as defined in claim 1 , including the step of nitriding said rod or tube to form a nitride layer on said rod or tube prior to at least one drawing down step, said step of nitriding including a) exposing at least a portion of said rod or tube to a nitriding gas that includes nitrogen, nitrogen and hydrogen, or combinations thereof, and b) exposing at least a portion of said rod or tube to a nitriding gas at a temperature of less than about 400° C. for at least about 1 minute.

8. The method as defined in claim 7 , including the step of removing said nitride layer on said rod or tube prior to annealing said rod or tube.

9. The method as defined in claim 1 , including the step of protecting said rod or tube from oxygen when said rod or tube is exposed to temperatures of greater than about 400° C.

10. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said step of drawing down said cross-sectional area of said rod or tube by a reducing mechanism that reduces said cross-sectional area by less than about 20% each time said rod or tube is processed by said reducing mechanism.

11. The method as defined in claim 10 , wherein said step of drawing down includes the step of inserting a close-fitting rod in said passageway of said tube prior to using said reducing mechanism on said tube.

12. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said step of annealing said rod or tube includes the steps of a) annealing the rod or tube at an annealing temperature of at least about 1480° C. for a time period of at least about 5 minutes when said rod or tube has wall thickness of greater than about 0.015 inch, b) annealing the rod or tube at an annealing temperature of about 1450-1480° C. for a time period of at least about 5 minutes when said rod or tube has wall thickness of about 0.008-0.015 inch, and c) annealing the rod or tube at an annealing temperature of less than about 1450° C. for a time period of at least about 5 minutes when said rod or tube has wall thickness of less than about 0.008 inch.

13. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said medical device is a stent.

14. The method as defined in claim 1 , where said rod or tube after completion of all of the annealing steps has an average grain size of 4-14 ASTM.

15. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein said initial tube has a wall thickness of about 0.001-0.100 inch.