Axially flexible stent
First Claim
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1. A stent having first and second ends with an intermediate section therebetween, the stent further having a longitudinal axis and providing axial flexibility, comprising:
- a plurality of longitudinally disposed bands, wherein each band defines a generally continuous wave having a spatial frequency along a line segment parallel to the longitudinal axis;
a plurality of links for maintaining the bands in a tubular structure, wherein the links are so disposed that any single circumferential path formed by the links is discontinuous; and
wherein the stent comprises a plurality of stent segments, each of the stent segments containing at least one generally continuous curvilinear strut, said stent segments connected by at least one flexible connector displaced between a pair of adjacent stent segments.
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Abstract
A stent with axial flexibility, in a preferred embodiment, has a longitudinal axis and comprises a plurality of longitudinally disposed bands, wherein each band defines a generally continuous wave along a line segment parallel to the longitudinal axis. A plurality of links maintains the bands in a tubular structure. In a further embodiment of the invention, each longitudinally disposed band of the stent is connected, at a plurality of periodic locations, by a short circumferential link to an adjac6ent band.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A stent having first and second ends with an intermediate section therebetween, the stent further having a longitudinal axis and providing axial flexibility, comprising:
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a plurality of longitudinally disposed bands, wherein each band defines a generally continuous wave having a spatial frequency along a line segment parallel to the longitudinal axis; a plurality of links for maintaining the bands in a tubular structure, wherein the links are so disposed that any single circumferential path formed by the links is discontinuous; and wherein the stent comprises a plurality of stent segments, each of the stent segments containing at least one generally continuous curvilinear strut, said stent segments connected by at least one flexible connector displaced between a pair of adjacent stent segments. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification