Expandable stents and method for making same
First Claim
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1. A longitudinally flexible stent for implanting in a body lumen and expandable from a contracted condition to an expanded condition, comprising:
- a plurality of adjacent cylindrical elements each having a circumference extending around a longitudinal stent axis and each element being substantially independently expandable in the radial direction, said elements being arranged in alignment along the longitudinal stent axis;
said cylindrical elements formed in a generally serpentine wave pattern transverse to the longitudinal axis and containing a plurality of alternating peaks and valleys;
said peaks and valleys having different radii of curvature;
at least one interconnecting member extending between adjacent cylindrical elements and connecting them to one another;
said serpentine pattern having varying radii of curvature at least in regions of said peaks, the varying radii of curvature being selected to provide a generally uniform radial expansion of said cylindrical elements and a generally uniform expansion of said serpentine pattern around the circumference of each cylindrical element during expansion of the stent from the contracted condition to the expanded condition.
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Abstract
The invention is directed to an expandable stent for implantation in a body lumen, such as an artery. The stent consists 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 as to limit longitudinal contraction during radial expansion. The individual radially expandable cylindrical elements are formed in general serpentine pattern designed to expand evenly under radial stress, and maximize the overall radial expansion ratio.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A longitudinally flexible stent for implanting in a body lumen and expandable from a contracted condition to an expanded condition, comprising:
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a plurality of adjacent cylindrical elements each having a circumference extending around a longitudinal stent axis and each element being substantially independently expandable in the radial direction, said elements being arranged in alignment along the longitudinal stent axis; said cylindrical elements formed in a generally serpentine wave pattern transverse to the longitudinal axis and containing a plurality of alternating peaks and valleys; said peaks and valleys having different radii of curvature; at least one interconnecting member extending between adjacent cylindrical elements and connecting them to one another; said serpentine pattern having varying radii of curvature at least in regions of said peaks, the varying radii of curvature being selected to provide a generally uniform radial expansion of said cylindrical elements and a generally uniform expansion of said serpentine pattern around the circumference of each cylindrical element during expansion of the stent from the contracted condition to the expanded condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A longitudinally flexible stent for implanting in a body lumen and expandable from a contracted condition to an expanded condition, comprising:
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a plurality of adjacent cylindrical elements each having a circumference extending around a longitudinal stent axis and each element being substantially independently expandable in the radial direction, said elements being arranged in alignment along the longitudinal stent axis; said cylindrical elements formed in a generally serpentine wave pattern transverse to the longitudinal axis and containing alternating peaks and valleys; a plurality of interconnecting members extending between said adjacent cylindrical elements and connecting them to one another; said serpentine wave pattern having varying radii of curvature at least in said regions of said peaks and said valleys and configured in size and shape so that said cylindrical elements generally expand in a uniform manner around the circumference of each element during expansion of the stent from the contracted condition to the expanded condition. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A stent delivery system for delivering an intraluminal stent, comprising:
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an elongated stent delivery catheter having a proximal end and a distal end, and an expandable member adjacent the distal end; a longitudinally flexible stent removably mounted on said expandable member of said delivery catheter and expandable from a contracted condition to an expanded condition; a plurality of adjacent cylindrical elements each having a circumference extending around a longitudinal stent axis and each element being substantially independently expandable in the radial direction, said elements being arranged in alignment along the longitudinal stent axis; said cylindrical elements formed in a generally serpentine wave pattern transverse to the longitudinal axis and containing a plurality of alternating peaks and valleys; said peaks and valleys having different radii of curvature; at least one interconnecting member extending between adjacent cylindrical elements and connecting them to one another; said serpentine pattern having varying radii of curvature at least in regions of said peaks the varying radii of curvature being selected to provide a generally uniform radial expansion of said cylindrical elements and a generally uniform expansion of said serpentine pattern around the circumference of each cylindrical element during expansion of the stent from the contracted condition to the expanded condition; and means for expanding said expandable member to, in turn, radially expand said stent and implant said stent in a body lumen.
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Specification