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Expandable preformed structures for deployment in interior body regionsRelated Patent Categories: Surgery, Instruments, Internal Pressure Applicator (e.g., Dilator), Inflatable Or Expandible By FluidExpandable preformed structures for deployment in interior body regions description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060095064, Expandable preformed structures for deployment in interior body regions. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 09/837,350, filed Apr. 18, 2001, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/088,459, filed Jun. 1, 1998 (now abandoned), which claims the benefit of application Ser. No. 08/788,786, filed Jan. 23, 1997 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,235,043), which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/188,224, filed Jan. 26, 1994 (now abandoned). FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention relates to expandable structures, which, in use, are deployed in interior body regions of humans and other animals. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The deployment of expandable structures, generically called "balloons," into cancellous bone is known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,969,888 and 5,106,404 disclose apparatus and methods using expandable structures in cancellous bone for the fixation of fractures or other osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic conditions of human and animal bones. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] When deployed in cancellous bone, expandable structures should undergo expansion and distention without failure. Furthermore, such structures, when distended, should generally match the geometry of the interior bone space in which the structure is deployed. In addition, such structures should allow preferential expansion to areas of lowest bone density. Exposure to cancellous bone also requires materials that exhibit superior resistance to surface abrasion and tensile stresses. [0005] It is has been discovered that expandable structures made from an elastomer material, e.g., polyurethane, which have been preformed to a desired shape, e.g., by exposure to heat and pressure, can undergo controlled expansion and further distention in cancellous bone, without failure, while exhibiting superior resistance to surface abrasion and puncture when contacting cancellous bone. [0006] Features and advantages of the inventions are set forth in the following Description and Drawings, as well as in the appended Claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] FIG. 1 is a coronal view of a vertebral body; [0008] FIG. 2 is a lateral view of the vertebral body shown in FIG. 1; [0009] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a tool which carries at its distal end an expandable structure that embodies features of the invention; [0010] FIGS. 4A and 4B are enlarged side views of the expandable structure carried by the tool shown in FIG. 3; [0011] FIG. 5 is a perspective end view of a tube made of a polyurethane or elastomer material prior to being formed into the expandable structure shown in FIG. 4A; [0012] FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the tube shown in FIG. 5 positioned in a shape-forming fixture, of which parts are broken away to permit viewing its interior; [0013] FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the shape-forming fixture shown in FIG. 6, in use applying heat and pressure to a region of the tube to form a shaped, expandable region; [0014] FIG. 8 is a coronal view of the vertebral body shown in FIG. 1, with the tool shown in FIG. 3 deployed to compress cancellous bone as a result of inflating the expandable structure; [0015] FIG. 9 is a coronal view of the vertebral body shown in FIG. 8, upon removal of the tool, showing the cavity formed by the compression of cancellous bone by the expandable structure; [0016] FIG. 10 is a graph which plots the effects of increasing pressure applied to the interior of the structure to the expanded volume of the structure; [0017] FIG. 11 is a coronal view of the vertebral body shown in FIG. 8, with the tool deployed to compress cancellous bone, and in which a bendable stylet alters the orientation of the expandable structure in cancellous bone; [0018] FIG. 12 is a side view of a complex structure which includes several expandable segments spaced along its length; [0019] FIG. 13 is a top perspective view of a shape-forming fixture used to apply pressure and heat to an extruded or molded tube to create the structure shown in FIG. 12; Continue reading about Expandable preformed structures for deployment in interior body regions... 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