Water-supported femtosecond laser ablation of Nitinol for cardiovascular stents

Abstract Nitinol became one of the most prominent materials for biomedical devices. The unique properties such as shape memory effect and superelasticity enabled new applications, particularly in field stent technologies. Due to their thermosensitivity, manufacturing processes are required that control heat accumulation material. Here we investigate femtosecond laser ablation supported by a water flow inside processed tube. We show absorption prevents annealing Nitinol, even high pulse energies. Furthermore, groove profiles scanning electron microscopy observe minor improvements structure when using results water-supported can be used optimize fabrication medical devices cardiovascular stents reduce processing times.