1. An expandable member and a delivery system for removing an obstruction from a blood vessel, comprising:
a delivery system; and
an expandable member, further comprising:
a proximal member end permanently attached to the delivery system;
a distal member end;
a member body extending between the proximal and distal member ends and adapted to radially expand into contact with at least a portion of an obstruction within a blood vessel such that a portion of the obstruction is dislodged to enhance blood flowthrough the blood vessel;
said member body further comprising a first mesh having a plurality of first interstices, at least one of the first interstices being adapted to allow passage of at least one dislodged portion of the obstruction therethrough in a radial direction into the member body.
2. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein said expandable member is configured to dislodge the obstruction by fracturing a portion of the obstruction.
3. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein said expandable member is configured to dislodge the obstruction by extruding a portion of the obstruction.
4. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein the expandable member includes at least one radiopaque portion.
5. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, said expandable member is at least partially constructed of a self-expanding material.
6. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein the blood vessel is a cerebral blood vessel.
7. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, said expandable member is at least partially adapted to elute a pharmaceutical agent.
8. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 7, wherein the pharmaceutical agent is adapted to at least partially lyse the at least one fragment.
9. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein the proximal member end of the expandable member is closed and is made of a second mesh having a plurality of second interstices, at least one of the second interstices being adapted to selectively allow passage of at least one fragment therethrough.
10. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 9, wherein said first mesh is formed integrally with the second mesh.
11. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first interstices is defined by a plurality of first strands, and at least one of the plurality of first strands is adapted to penetrate into the obstruction to longitudinally separate the at least one fragment from a remaining portion of the obstruction.
12. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the second interstices is defined by a plurality of second strands, at least one of the plurality of second strands is adapted to break the at least one fragment into a plurality of subfragments, and at least one of the second interstices is adapted to selectively allow passage therethrough of at least one subfragment to release the at least one subfragment from the expandable member.
13. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the plurality of second interstices is smaller than at least one of the plurality of first interstices.
14. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 9, wherein the size of at least one of the plurality of second interstices is chosen on the basis of an allowable particulate size of the blood vessel.
15. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein the tubular member body is adapted to compress at least a portion of the obstruction against a vessel wall of the blood vessel.
16. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein the member body defines a body interior, the expandable member including a guidewire extending longitudinally between the distal and proximal member ends through the body interior, the guidewire being attached to a closed one of the distal and proximal member ends.
17. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 13, wherein the guidewire extends beyond at least one of the distal and proximal member ends and is adapted to permanently attach the expandable member to a delivery system.
18. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein the expandable member comprises a plurality of strands forming the first and second meshes and wherein each of the strands is oriented in at least one of a helical, longitudinal, and radial direction with respect to the member body.
19. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein said distal member end of the expandable member is open.
20. The expandable member and the delivery system of claim 1, wherein the member body of the expandable member is substantially tubular in shape.
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 method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device comprising an n-type layer, a light-emitting layer, and a p-type layer, which are made of Group III nitride semiconductor, sequentially deposited on a buffer layer which is deposited on a sapphire substrate having a c-plane main surface, said main surface having a texture structure, the method comprising:
forming the texture on the main surface of the sapphire substrate so as to have a depth of 1 \u03bcm to 2 \u03bcm;
forming a buried layer of Group III nitride semiconductor on the buffer layer, to flatten a top surface by burying the texture, at a temperature which is lower by 20\xb0 C. to 80\xb0 C. than that when the n-type layer is formed; and
forming the n-type layer on the buried layer at a temperature of 1000\xb0 C. to 1200\xb0 C.,
wherein a side surface of the texture provided on the sapphire substrate is inclined by 40\xb0 to 80\xb0.
2. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the buried layer is doped with Si.
3. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the buried layer has a thickness of 1 \u03bcm to 3 \u03bcm.
4. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the buffer layer is formed of AlN.
5. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device comprising an n-type layer, a light-emitting layer, and a p-type layer, which are made of Group III nitride semiconductor, sequentially deposited on a buffer layer which is deposited on a sapphire substrate having a c-plane main surface, said main surface having a texture structure, the method comprising:
forming the texture on the sapphire substrate so as to have a side surface inclined by 40\xb0 to 80\xb0 and a depth of 1 \u03bcm to 2 \u03bcm;
forming a preventing layer of Group III nitride semiconductor on the buffer layer to prevent mass transport of the buffer layer, at a temperature of 600\xb0 C. to 1050\xb0 C. so as to cover the entire top surface of the buffer layer; and
forming the n-type layer on the preventing layer at a temperature of 1050\xb0 C. to 1200\xb0 C.
6. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the buffer layer is formed of AlN; and the preventing layer is formed at a temperature of 900\xb0 C. to 1050\xb0 C.
7. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the buffer layer is formed of GaN; and nitrogen is used as a carrier gas in heating to form the n-type layer.
8. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the preventing layer has a thickness of 20 nm to 1000 nm.
9. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device comprising layers which are made of Group III nitride semiconductor, sequentially deposited on a buffer layer which is deposited on a sapphire substrate having a c-plane main surface, said main surface having a texture structure, the method comprising:
forming the texture on the sapphire substrate so as to have a depth of 1.2 \u03bcm to 2.5 \u03bcm and a side surface inclined by 40\xb0 to 80\xb0 and;
forming the buffer layer of Group III nitride semiconductor containing Al.
10. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 9, wherein the buffer layer is formed of AlGaN having an Al composition ratio of 50% or more.
11. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 10, wherein the buffer layer is formed of AlN.
12. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 9, wherein heat treatment is performed in a hydrogen atmosphere at a temperature of 1000\xb0 C. to 1200\xb0 C. before forming the buffer layer after the formation of the sapphire substrate.