Vascular stent
First Claim
1. A stent comprising:
- a radially flexible tubular structure made from a plurality of windings comprising peaks and valleys of a wire-like material about a longitudinal axis;
said wire-like material incorporating sharp first bends formed by at least two of segments of said wire-like material approaching each other for substantially their entire length;
said segments meeting at a point or becoming parallel to each other immediately before being joined;
at least one crosstie extending generally longitudinally to connect at least one of said windings to another of said windings; and
said sharp first bends, expanded beyond the original diameter, to resist recoil of the stent toward its original diameter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A flexible stent is provided that has features to minimize recoil and facilitate anchoring of the stent in a vascular passage. The design features sharp angulated bends. Other features include a rounded cross-section in the wire or stent components. Another feature is the bending of the angulated bends in a transverse plane to provide additional rigidity and an anchoring mechanism. Ties are provided in alignment or in staggered fashion, either semi-rigid or flexible, to allow the structure, which can be made of joined rings or a helical arrangement, to be more flexible to accommodate bends in the vascular system. The ties are also disclosed with a locking system involving bending the wire as it is formed into a helix in combination with crossties with loops which lock the stent in an expanded position.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A stent comprising:
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a radially flexible tubular structure made from a plurality of windings comprising peaks and valleys of a wire-like material about a longitudinal axis; said wire-like material incorporating sharp first bends formed by at least two of segments of said wire-like material approaching each other for substantially their entire length; said segments meeting at a point or becoming parallel to each other immediately before being joined; at least one crosstie extending generally longitudinally to connect at least one of said windings to another of said windings; and said sharp first bends, expanded beyond the original diameter, to resist recoil of the stent toward its original diameter. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28)
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2. A stent comprising:
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a radially flexible tubular structure made from a plurality of windings comprising peaks and valleys of a wire-like material about a longitudinal axis; said wire-like material incorporating sharp first bends formed by at least two of segments of said wire-like material approaching each other for substantially their entire length; said segments meeting at a point or becoming parallel to each other immediately before being joined; at least one crosstie extending generally longitudinally to connect at least one of said windings to another of said windings; said at least one crosstie is formed to be flexible to change its length in response to a bending force applied to said tubular structure; said sharp first bends, when plastically expanded beyond the original diameter, to resist recoil of the stent toward its original diameter. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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7. A stent comprising:
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a radially flexible tubular structure made from a plurality of windings comprising peaks and valleys of a wire-like material about a longitudinal axis; said wire-like material incorporating sharp first bends formed by at least two of segments of said wire-like material approaching each other for substantially their entire length; said segments meeting at a point or becoming parallel to each other immediately before being joined; at least one crosstie extending generally longitudinally to connect at least one of said windings to another of said windings; said sharp first bends, expanded beyond the original diameter, to resist recoil of the stent toward its original diameter; and at least some of said sharp first bends are similarly oriented between adjacent windings but are circumferentially out of phase with other sharp first bends on an adjacent winding. - View Dependent Claims (9, 11)
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24. A stent comprising:
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a radially flexible tubular structure made from a plurality of windings comprising peaks and valleys of a wire-like material about a longitudinal axis; said wire-like material incorporating sharp first bends formed by at least two of segments of said wire-like material approaching each other for substantially their entire length; said segments meeting at a point or becoming parallel to each other immediately before being joined; at least one crosstie extending generally longitudinally to connect at least one of said windings to another of said windings; said sharp first bends, expanded beyond the original diameter, to resist recoil of the stent toward its original diameter; and said tubular structure is formed from a continuous spirally wound wire-like material where a plurality of said crossfies connect said windings.
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29. A stent, comprising:
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a radially flexible tubular structure made from a plurality of windings about a longitudinal axis of an undulating wire-like material, incorporating a plurality of undulations along its length; and at least one crosstie spanning a pair of said windings and forming a loop over said undulations thereby permitting relative unidirectional movement between said loop and differing undulations on at least one of said windings which are thereby engaged. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification