| abstract |
Cardiovascular, vascular, and percutaneous implants, as well as catheters and other surgical instruments, fabricated from a core or substrate of a low modulus metal coated with blue to black zirconium oxide or zirconium nitride. The coating provides enhanced thrombogenicity, biocompatibility, blood compatibility, corrosion-resistance, friction and microfretting resistance, durability, and electrical insulation, where applicable. The coatings may be applied to low modulus metallic substrates by physical or chemical vapor deposition as well as other ion-beam assisted methods. Preferably, however, for optimizing attachment strength, the implants and surgical instruments are fabricated from zirconium or zirconium-containing alloys and the coatings are formed by oxidizing or nitriding through an in situ method that develops a coating from and on the metal surface of the implant or instrument, without need for depositing a coating on the metal surface. |