Low profile radiopaque stent with increased longitudinal flexibility and radial rigidity
First Claim
1. A stent in the form of a thin-walled, multi-cellular, tubular structure having a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising:
- a multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of strut members being longitudinally separated each from the other and each set of strut members forming a closed, ring-like cylindrical section of the stent, each set of strut members consisting of a multiplicity of strut elements, each strut element consisting of one curved end strut that is joined at a junction point to one diagonal strut with each junction point being an end point of each curved end strut and each curved end strut having two end points and a center point that is centered between the two end points;
a multiplicity of sets of flexible links with each set of flexible links connecting two of the multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of flexible links consisting of a multiplicity of individual flexible links, each individual flexible link being a single undulating structure that extends generally in the longitudinal direction that is parallel to the stent'"'"'s longitudinal axis and each individual flexible link having two ends, each one of the two ends being fixedly attached to one curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements at an attachment point situated between the center and one end of the curved end strut; and
the shape of at least some of the individual flexible links being selected from a group that includes “
N”
links, inverted “
N”
links, “
M”
links and “
W”
links, wherein each of said links have at least four generally longitudinal extending curved segments.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a comparatively thick-walled vascular stent comprising sets of strut members connected by flexible, longitudinally extending links. This design utilizes flexible links with a variety of different shapes. Adjacent flexible links around the circumference of the stent are designed to nest one into the other, allowing the stent to be both thick-walled and to crimp down without overlap onto a low profile balloon. The flexible links are attached to the sets of strut members not at the center like the “S” links of prior art stents, but off center near the end of the curved strut portion of each set of strut members. This off center attachment point allows for a more flexible link without increasing the cell size of the expanded stent. Small cell size is desirable to limit plaque prolapse into the lumen of the expanded stent and to increase the stent'"'"'s radial rigidity. The relatively thin strut width with thick wall allows the flexible links to easily lengthen and shorten during stent delivery into the body while still providing each flexible link with a considerable degree of radial strength.
-
Citations
23 Claims
-
1. A stent in the form of a thin-walled, multi-cellular, tubular structure having a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising:
-
a multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of strut members being longitudinally separated each from the other and each set of strut members forming a closed, ring-like cylindrical section of the stent, each set of strut members consisting of a multiplicity of strut elements, each strut element consisting of one curved end strut that is joined at a junction point to one diagonal strut with each junction point being an end point of each curved end strut and each curved end strut having two end points and a center point that is centered between the two end points;
a multiplicity of sets of flexible links with each set of flexible links connecting two of the multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of flexible links consisting of a multiplicity of individual flexible links, each individual flexible link being a single undulating structure that extends generally in the longitudinal direction that is parallel to the stent'"'"'s longitudinal axis and each individual flexible link having two ends, each one of the two ends being fixedly attached to one curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements at an attachment point situated between the center and one end of the curved end strut; and
the shape of at least some of the individual flexible links being selected from a group that includes “
N”
links, inverted “
N”
links, “
M”
links and “
W”
links, wherein each of said links have at least four generally longitudinal extending curved segments.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A stent in the form of a thin-walled, multi-cellular, tubular structure having a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising:
-
a multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of strut members being longitudinally separated each from the other and each set of strut members forming a closed, ring-like cylindrical section of the stent, each set of strut members consisting of a multiplicity of strut elements, each strut element consisting of one curved end strut that is joined at a junction point to one diagonal strut with each junction point being an end point of each curved end strut and each curved end strut having two end points and a center point that is centered between the two end points;
at least one set of flexible links of a first type and at least one set of flexible links of a second type, each one of the two types of sets of flexible links being connected to two of the multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of flexible links consisting of a multiplicity of individual flexible links, each individual flexible link being a single undulating structure that extends generally in the longitudinal direction that is parallel to the stent'"'"'s longitudinal axis and each individual flexible link having two ends, each one of the two ends being fixedly attached to one curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements; and
the shape of at least some of the individual flexible links being selected from a group that includes “
N”
links, inverted “
N”
links, “
M”
links and “
W”
links, wherein each of said links have at least four generally longitudinal extending curved segments.- View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
Specification