STENT DESIGNS FOR USE IN PERIPHERAL VESSELS

• US 20080051877A1
• Filed: 08/23/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Abbott Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Abbott Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Fitzgerald, Keif, Anukhin, Boris, Hsiao, Hao-Ming
• Granted Patent: US 8,252,041 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/1.16
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/06 Blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/91 made from perforated sheet material or tubes, e.g. perforated by laser cuts or etched holes
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/915 with bands having a meander structure, adjacent bands being connected to each other
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/91558 connected peak to peak
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/91575 connected peak to trough
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0013 Horseshoe-shaped, e.g. crescent-shaped, C-shaped, U-shaped

Abstract

Stent designs for use in peripheral vessels, such as the carotid arteries, are disclosed. The stents consist of a plurality of radially expandable cylindrical elements generally aligned on a common longitudinal stent axis and interconnected by one or more interconnecting members placed so that the stent is flexible in a longitudinal direction. The cylindrical elements are generally serpentine wave pattern transverse to the longitudinal axis between alternating valley portion and peak portions, the valley portion including alternating double-curved portions and U-shaped portions. The interconnecting members are attached to the double-curved portions to connect a cylindrical element to an adjacent cylindrical element and interconnecting members are attached to the U-shaped portions to connect the cylindrical element to the other adjacent cylindrical element. The designs include an eight crown and six crown stent which exhibit flexibility and sufficient radial strength to support the vessel.

Claims

1. A stent comprised of a plurality of radially expandable rings disposed adjacent to one another thereby defining a tubular member, comprising:

a first radially expandable ring defined by a plurality of strut members;

a second radially expandable ring defined by a plurality of strut members;

a nth radially expandable ring;

at least one interconnection member disposed between the first and second radially expandable rings extending between strut members thereof;

at least two interconnection members disposed between the second and nth radially expandable ring, wherein the flexibility of the tubular member is adjusted along the length of the tubular member by varying the number of interconnection members between adjacent expandable rings, and wherein a middle portion of the tubular member includes a greater number of interconnection members than the ends of the tubular member.

2. The stent of claim 1, wherein at least one expandable ring includes a W shaped portion at a location adjacent the interconnection member.

3. The stent of claim 2, wherein the at least one expandable ring further includes an inverted U shaped portion defining a peak.

4. The stent of claim 2, wherein the at least one expandable ring further includes a U shaped portion defining a valley.

5. The stent of claim 1, wherein the at least one expandable ring includes a W shaped portion defined by strut members, an inverted U shaped portion defined by strut members, and a U shaped portion defined by strut members.

6. The stent of claim 5, wherein the at least one expandable ring includes alternating W shaped portions and U shaped portions along at least a portion of the length of the ring.

7. The stent of claim 1, wherein the plurality of interconnection members which are connected to each expandable ring are discontinuous with each other.

8. The stent of claim 1, wherein the plurality of interconnection members are configured to form a continuous spine which extends from a proximal end to a distal end of the stent.

9. The stent of claim 1, wherein the number of interconnection members can be varied between each of the adjacent expandable rings.

10. The stent of claim 1, wherein the interconnection members are disposed at an angle to a longitudinal axis of the stent.

11. The stent of claim 1, wherein a non-linear feature is formed in at least one interconnection member.

12. The stent of claim 5, wherein at least one expandable ring includes at least one shoulder region extending from a W shaped portion to a U shaped portion.

13. The stent of claim 12, wherein a portion of one expandable ring is nested within the shoulder region of an adjacent expandable ring.

14. A stent comprising:

a plurality of radially expandable rings disposed adjacent to one another to define a tubular member having a proximal end and a distal end, each radially expandable ring including a plurality of strut members defining alternating peak and valley portions;

at least one interconnection member disposed between first and second radially expandable rings and extending between strut members thereof;

wherein the strut members of the radially expandable rings disposed at the proximal and distal ends include W-shaped valley portions, and wherein the flexibility of the stent is adjusted along a length of the stent by varying the number of interconnection members between adjacent expandable rings such that a middle portion of the stent includes a greater number of interconnection members than the distal and proximal ends of the tubular member.

15. The stent of claim 14, wherein at least one expandable ring includes a W shaped portion at a location adjacent to the interconnection member.

16. The stent of claim 14, wherein at least two adjacent expandable rings include a W shaped portion and a U shaped portion.

17. The stent of claim 14, wherein the distal expandable ring and the proximal expandable ring include strut members defining a W shaped portion.

18. The stent of claim 14, wherein a plurality of interconnection members are configured to form a continuous spine which extends from the proximal end to the distal end of the stent.

19. The stent of claim 14, wherein at least one expandable ring includes at least one shoulder region extending from a valley portion to a peak portion.

20. The stent of claim 19, wherein the peak portion of one expandable ring is nested within the shoulder region of an adjacent expandable ring.