Shaped woven tubular soft-tissue prostheses and methods of manufacturing

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to flat-woven implantable tubular prostheses, and in particular endoluminal grafts, which have been continuously woven to form seamless tubular products having gradual changes in diameter along their length, as well as various shaped tubular sections formed from gradual changes in the number of warp yarns engaged or disengaged with the fill yarns during the weaving process.
Changes in diameter and/or shape are accomplished by gradually engaging and/or disengaging selected warp yarns with the fill yarns in the weave pattern.
It has been discovered that such a gradual transition can be accomplished using electronic jacquard looms controlled by computer software.
Such engaging and/or disengaging of warp yarns can change the diameter of the tube in a manner which creates a seamless and gradual transition from one diameter to another.
Additionally, such engagement and/or disengagement can be used to create tubular vascular prostheses and the like which have any number of shapes as depicted and further described herein.
Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a flat-woven implantable tubular prosthesis having warp yarns and fill yarns including first and second spaced apart portions which define therebetween a transition tubular wall extent, the first portion having a first diameter and the second portion having at least a second diameter different from the first diameter.
The tubular prosthesis further includes a weaving pattern along the transition tubular wall extent, said weaving pattern having a gradual change in the number of warp yarns to provide a seamless transition between the first and second portions.
In another embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a flat-woven implantable tubular prosthesis including first and second ends defining a tubular wall therebetween, with the tubular wall including warp yarns and fill yarns.
The tubular wall is defined by a first elongate woven section with a first selected number of warp yarns therealong to define a first tubular internal diameter, and a second elongate woven section seamlessly contiguous with the first woven section and having a gradual change in the number of warp yarns therealong to define at least a second tubular internal diameter