EXPANDABLE STENT
First Claim
1. A stent comprising a tubular body made up of a plurality of separate, radially expandable, tubular elements aligned along a common longitudinal axis, each tubular element being physically unconnected to any other tubular element when the tubular elements are radially expanded, wherein at least some of the tubular elements each comprise a plurality of closed cell elements, each closed cell element joined to a circumferentially-adjacent closed cell element by a circumferentially-extending linking member, each circumferentially-extending linking member being attached to two circumferentially-neighboring closed cell elements at respective spaced apart attachment points.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An expandable stent comprising a tubular body made up of a plurality of separated tubular elements (1) arranged along a common longitudinal axis. Each tubular element (1) comprises a plurality of rhombic-shaped closed cell elements (2) joined by circumferentially extending linking members (3). The closed cell elements (2) are expandable to allow the tubular elements, and hence the stent itself, to expand. In the direction of the longitudinal axis of the stent, the extremities of each of the closed cell elements has an enlarged loop (30) with waisted portions (33) which allow the tubular elements to interlock to create a stable structure, at least when in the unexpanded condition.
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Citations
28 Claims
- 1. A stent comprising a tubular body made up of a plurality of separate, radially expandable, tubular elements aligned along a common longitudinal axis, each tubular element being physically unconnected to any other tubular element when the tubular elements are radially expanded, wherein at least some of the tubular elements each comprise a plurality of closed cell elements, each closed cell element joined to a circumferentially-adjacent closed cell element by a circumferentially-extending linking member, each circumferentially-extending linking member being attached to two circumferentially-neighboring closed cell elements at respective spaced apart attachment points.
Specification