1. A method of forming a stent with hollow struts comprising the steps of:
stacking a first sheet of a first material, a second sheet of a second material, and a third sheet of third material disposed between the first sheet and the second sheet to form a stacked laminate of materials;
stamping a flat stent pattern from the stacked laminate of materials, wherein the stamping step removes the first, second, and third materials from portions of the stacked laminate of materials, thereby leaving the flat stent pattern with a cross-section having the first material, the second material, and the third material, wherein the stamping step pushes the third sheet inward and edges of the first sheet and the second sheet together to surround the third sheet such that a cross-section through struts of the flat stent pattern includes the first material and the second material completely surrounding the third material;
after the stamping step, processing the stent pattern to remove the third material from within the first material and the second material such that a cross-section of the struts includes the first material and the second material surrounding a lumen;
rolling the flat stent pattern such that longitudinal edges of the flat stent pattern abut against each other to form a tube, and bonding the longitudinal edges to each other; and
filling the lumen with a biologically or pharmacologically active substance.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forming openings through the first material or the second material from an outer surface of the first material or the second material through an inner surface of the first material or the second material.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of forming openings is performed prior to removing the third material from within the first material and the second material.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of forming openings is performed after removing the third material from within the first material and the second material.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of rolling the flat stent pattern is performed after the step of processing the stent pattern to remove the third material.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of rolling the flat stent pattern is performed before the step of processing the stent pattern to remove the third material.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first material and the second material are the same material.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first material and the second material are MP35N.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of removing the third material comprises exposing the stent pattern to an etchant that removes the third material and does not adversely affect the first material and the second material.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the etchant is xenon difluoride gas.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first material and the second material are both MP35N, the third material is tantalum, and the etchant is xenon difluoride gas.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the stent pattern to remove the third material is selected from the group consisting of chemical etching, wet chemical dissolution, solubilization, sublimation, and melting.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the biologically or pharmacologically active substance is selected from the group consisting of glucocorticoids, antithrombotic agents, growth factors, antisense agents, anti-cancer agents, anti-proliferative agents, oligonucleotides, antibiotics, antiplatelet agents, anti-coagulant agents, antimitotic agents, antioxidants, antimetabolite agents, and anti-inflammatory agents.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A car for a rail train comprising:
a) a rail car base supported on opposite ends by rail car trucks;
b) a rail support rack comprising a plurality of shelves supported above the rail car base in inwardly spaced relation to a first end of said rail car base, each shelf including a support surface on which a rail loaded on the rail train is supported;
c) a plurality of upwardly opening guide channels, each said guide channel fixedly coupled to said car and extending from proximate said first end of said rail car toward a respective one of said shelves in alignment with a respective outer pocket associated with the respective one of said shelves; each said guide channel having a floor which is wider than a base of the rail loaded on the rail train and supported on said shelf, said floor terminating adjacent to said support surface of said respective one of said shelves, and said guide channel configured to direct said rail onto said support surface.
2. The car for a rail train as in claim 1 wherein each of said guide channels is supported proximate said first end of said rail car base by a vertical support.
3. The car for a rail train as in claim 2 wherein each of said vertical supports comprises an inwardly angled funnel plate projecting upward from the rail car base and angling inward from the first end of the rail car toward rail support rack.
4. The car for a rail train as in claim 3 wherein said floor of said guide channel flares outward adjacent said funnel plate.
5. The car for a rail train as in claim 2 wherein said upwardly opening guide channels extend from each said vertical support to each of said shelves only in alignment with the outer pockets associated with each shelf.
6. A rail support car for a rail train comprising:
a) a rail car base supported on opposite ends by rail car trucks;
b) first and second rail support racks, each comprising a plurality of shelves supported above the rail car base in inwardly spaced relation to first and second ends of said rail car base; each shelf extending between a pair of sidewalls;
c) inwardly angled funnel plates projecting upward from the rail car base on opposite sides thereof proximate the first and second ends thereof;
d) an upwardly opening guide channel extending from each said funnel plate to one of said shelves in alignment with an outer pocket associated with said respective shelf; each said guide channel having a floor which is wider than a base of a rail adapted to be supported on said shelf.
7. The rail support car as in claim 6 wherein said floor of each said guide channel flares outward adjacent said funnel plate from which said guide channel extends.
8. The rail support car as in claim 6 wherein said upwardly opening guide channels extend from each said funnel plate to each of said shelves only in alignment with the outer pockets associated with each shelf.
9. The rail support car as in claim 6 further comprising a cat walk supported above each of said rail support racks.
10. A car for a rail train comprising:
a rail car base supported on opposite ends by rail car trucks;
a rail support rack comprising a plurality of shelves supported above the rail car base in inwardly spaced relation to a first end of said rail car base;
a plurality of upwardly opening guide channels, each said guide channel extending from proximate said first end of said rail car toward one of said shelves in alignment with an outer pocket associated with a respective one of said shelves; each said guide channel having a floor which is wider than a base of a rail adapted to be supported on said shelf, and each said guide channel being supported proximate said first end of said rail car base by a vertical support that includes an inwardly angled funnel plate projecting upward from the rail car base and angling inward from the first end of the rail car toward rail support rack.
11. The car for a rail train as in claim 10 wherein said floor of said guide channel flares outward adjacent said funnel plate.
12. The car for a rail train as in claim 10 wherein said upwardly opening guide channels extend from each said vertical support to each of said shelves only in alignment with the outer pockets associated with each shelf.