Tubular Helical Stent With Rotatable Connections and Method of Making
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of making a stent comprising the steps of:
- loading one or more connecting rings onto a wire such that the wire is disposed through a lumen of each connecting ring;
forming the wire into a zigzag waveform defined by a series of generally straight segments interconnected by crowns;
helically winding the waveform into a generally tubular configuration having a plurality of helical bands such that a crown of a first band is rotatably disposed within a lumen of one of the connecting rings and a crown of a second band adjacent the first band is disposed abutting an exterior surface of the connecting ring; and
fusing the exterior surface of the connecting ring to the crown of the second band to form a rotatable connection between the first band and the second band.
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Abstract
A tubular stent includes a plurality of bands aligned generally along a common longitudinal axis. A first band has a plurality of first crowns and a second band adjacent to the first band has a plurality of second crowns. A connecting ring connects the first band to the second band, wherein one of the first crowns is rotatably disposed through a lumen of the connecting ring and one of the second crowns is fused to the wall of the connecting ring outside of the lumen of the connecting ring. Methods of making tubular stents with rotatable connections are also disclosed.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of making a stent comprising the steps of:
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loading one or more connecting rings onto a wire such that the wire is disposed through a lumen of each connecting ring; forming the wire into a zigzag waveform defined by a series of generally straight segments interconnected by crowns; helically winding the waveform into a generally tubular configuration having a plurality of helical bands such that a crown of a first band is rotatably disposed within a lumen of one of the connecting rings and a crown of a second band adjacent the first band is disposed abutting an exterior surface of the connecting ring; and fusing the exterior surface of the connecting ring to the crown of the second band to form a rotatable connection between the first band and the second band. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A flexible tubular stent comprising:
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a stent body comprising a zigzag shaped wireform helically wound into a series of bands aligned generally along a common longitudinal axis, wherein the plurality of bands includes at least a first band having a plurality of first crowns and a second band adjacent to the first band and having a plurality of second crowns; and a ring connecting one of the first crowns to one of the second crowns, wherein the first crown is rotatably disposed through a lumen of the ring and the second crown is fused to a wall of the ring and is disposed outside of the lumen of the ring. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification