Expandable unit cell and intraluminal stent
First Claim
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1. A unit cell for use in a stent adapted to be expanded to conform to the dimensions of a vessel, comprising;
- (i) an elongate connecting bar extending in a direction normal to the direction of stent expansion,(ii) associated with each end of said connecting bar, a first arm and a second arm, each arm being attached to the connecting bar associated end at an inner arm end for pivotal movement away from one another with stent expansion, said first and second arms having outer arm ends which are moved outwardly, with respect to the connecting bar, with such pivotal movement, and(iii) an expandable looped member connecting the outer arm ends in each pair of first and second arms, said looped member having an axial extremity which moves axially inwardly, with respect to the associated connecting bar end, with stent expansion,said arms and expandable looped members being constructed and dimensioned so that the radial outward distance traveled by the arms'"'"' outer ends in each pair of first and second arms is approximately equal to the axial inward distance traveled by the associated looped member extremity, as the stent is expanded.
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Abstract
A unit cell for use in a medical device, such as a stent, is disclosed along with a description of a stent formed from a plurality of unit cells and for use in the treatment of restenosis or other vascular narrowing. The unit cell is designed and configured for uniform radial expansion with minimal axial shortening and recoil, and is selectively variable in flexibility and expendability.
489 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A unit cell for use in a stent adapted to be expanded to conform to the dimensions of a vessel, comprising;
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(i) an elongate connecting bar extending in a direction normal to the direction of stent expansion, (ii) associated with each end of said connecting bar, a first arm and a second arm, each arm being attached to the connecting bar associated end at an inner arm end for pivotal movement away from one another with stent expansion, said first and second arms having outer arm ends which are moved outwardly, with respect to the connecting bar, with such pivotal movement, and (iii) an expandable looped member connecting the outer arm ends in each pair of first and second arms, said looped member having an axial extremity which moves axially inwardly, with respect to the associated connecting bar end, with stent expansion, said arms and expandable looped members being constructed and dimensioned so that the radial outward distance traveled by the arms'"'"' outer ends in each pair of first and second arms is approximately equal to the axial inward distance traveled by the associated looped member extremity, as the stent is expanded. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A stent adapted to be expanded to conform to the dimensions of a vessel, comprising a plurality of unit cells, each unit cell composed of
(i) an elongate connecting bar extending in a direction normal to the direction of stent expansion, (ii) associated with each end of said connecting bar, a first arm and a second arm, each arm being attached to the associated connecting bar end at an inner arm, for pivotal movement away from one another with stent expansion, said first and second arms having outer arm ends which are moved outwardly, with respect to the connecting bar, with such pivotal movement, and (iii) an expandable looped member connecting the outer arm ends in each pair of first and second arms, said looped member having an axial extremity which moves axially inwardly, with respect to the associated connecting bar end, with stent expansion, said arms and expandable looped members being constructed and dimensioned so that the axial outward distance traveled by the arms'"'"' outer ends in each pair of first and second arms is approximately equal to the axial inward distance traveled by the associated looped member extremity, as the stent is expanded.
Specification