Thin-film micromesh medical devices and related methods
Thin-film mesh for medical devices, including stent and scaffold devices, and related methods are provided. Micropatterned thin-film mesh, such as thin-film Nitinol (TFN) mesh, may be fabricated via sputter deposition on a micropatterned wafer. The thin-film mesh may include slits to be expanded into pores, and the expanded thin-film mesh used as a cover for a stent device. The stent device may include two stent modules that may be implanted at a bifurcated aneurysm such that one module passes through a medial surface of the other module. The thin-film mesh may include pores with complex, fractal, or fractal-like shapes. The thin-film mesh may be used as a scaffold for a scaffold device. The thin-film scaffold may be placed in a solution including structural protein such as fibrin, seeded with cells, and placed in the body to replace or repair tissue.
1. A thin-film micromesh device comprising:
a metallic thin film formed from sputter deposition and etching on a substrate,
wherein the etching is deep reactive ion etching (DRIE);
wherein the metallic thin film has a length and includes a plurality of closed fenestrations, wherein the plurality of closed fenestrations are configured to become open fenestrations when the metallic thin film is expanded in a direction approximately perpendicular to the length,
wherein the fenestrations form an overlapping-circle pattern, and
wherein the metallic thin film is configured as a stent cover for a stent device;
at least one of structural proteins, fibrin, collagen, elastin, fibronectin, laminin, or coagulated material formed on the metallic thin film; and
a bioabsorbable backbone on which the metallic thin film is assembled, wherein the bioabsorbable backbone is configured to be absorbed after implantation in a patient for a predetermined amount of time.
2. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 1 , wherein the metallic thin film or the structural proteins comprise one or more small molecules or large molecules configured to achieve a desired therapeutic effect at an anatomic site of interest where the thin-film micromesh device is to be deployed.
3. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 1 , wherein the metallic thin film has a pore density of between 65 and 1075 pores per mm 2 and a percent metal coverage of between 16 and 66 when the metallic thin film is expanded to open up the plurality of fenestrations.
4. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 1 , wherein the metallic thin film comprises thin-film Nitinol (TFN).
5. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of metallic thin films each provided with structural proteins, wherein the plurality of metallic thin films are stacked together to form a three-dimensional thin-film micromesh structure.
6. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 1 , further comprising an outer thin-film mesh cylinder enclosing an inner thin-film mesh cylinder, wherein each of the inner and the outer thin-film mesh cylinders is provided with structural proteins.
7. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 1 , further comprising a seeded cell layer on the metallic thin film incubated to promote cell growth.
8. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 7 , wherein the seeded cell layer comprises at least one of epithelial cells, endothelial cells, or stem cells.
9. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 1 , wherein the metallic thin film has a percentage metal coverage of approximately between 6 to 83 percent.
10. The thin-film micromesh device of claim 1 , wherein the structural proteins comprise growth factors.