Angioplasty stents
First Claim
1. A stent for supporting the wall of a vessel comprising a tubular body having at least two annular segments interconnected by a plurality of connectors, the tubular body having a wall including an inner wall surface and an outer wall surface defining a wall thickness therebetween, the tubular body further having a plurality of openings between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface, the tubular body being expandable from a radially contracted condition to a radially expanded condition, at least one annular segment being configured such that a first portion of the at least one annular segment has a first outer wall surface width and a second portion of the at least one annular segment has a second outer wall surface width, the first outer wall surface width being greater than the second outer wall surface width such that the outer wall surface of the first portion of the at least one annular segment is configured to provide greater support to the wall of the vessel than the outer wall surface of the second portion of the at least one annular segment.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An angioplasty stent comprises a body comprising a plurality of successive segments connected in pairs by bridge means so that the successive segments can be oriented relative to one another for the purposes of bending of the body in any direction defined by a linear combination of respective orientation axes defined by the bridge connection means. During the radial expansion of the stent, the axial contraction of the segments resulting from the opening-out of the respective loops is compensated by axial projection of the bridge elements from the respective concave portions. The wall of the body comprises arms for supporting a lumen as well as regions which are selectively deformable during the expansion of the stent, the arms and the selectively deformable regions having different cross-sections and/or cross-sectional areas. At least one portion of the body may have a substantially reticular structure, the branches of which define geometrical figures identifiable as fractals.
323 Citations
21 Claims
- 1. A stent for supporting the wall of a vessel comprising a tubular body having at least two annular segments interconnected by a plurality of connectors, the tubular body having a wall including an inner wall surface and an outer wall surface defining a wall thickness therebetween, the tubular body further having a plurality of openings between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface, the tubular body being expandable from a radially contracted condition to a radially expanded condition, at least one annular segment being configured such that a first portion of the at least one annular segment has a first outer wall surface width and a second portion of the at least one annular segment has a second outer wall surface width, the first outer wall surface width being greater than the second outer wall surface width such that the outer wall surface of the first portion of the at least one annular segment is configured to provide greater support to the wall of the vessel than the outer wall surface of the second portion of the at least one annular segment.
- 5. A stent comprising a tubular body having a wall including an inner wall surface and an outer wall surface defining a wall thickness therebetween, the tubular body further having a plurality of openings between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface, the tubular body being expandable from a radially contracted condition to a radially expanded condition, the tubular body having a plurality of annular segments, each annular segment connected to at least one other annular segment by a bridge portion, the tubular body being configured such that a first portion of at least one annular segment has a first wall thickness and a first outer wall surface width and a second portion of the at least one annular segment has a second wall thickness and a second outer wall surface width, the first wall thickness being greater than the second wall thickness, the first and second wall thicknesses being selected in order to enhance at least one characteristic of the tubular body selected from plastic deformability, resistance to bending, and resistance to the formation of concentrated stress regions along the wall of the vessel when the tubular body is expanded, the outer wall surface of the tubular body being configured such that the outer wall surface of the first portion of the at least one annular segment provides greater support to the wall of the vessel than the outer wall surface of the second portion of the at least one annular segment.
- 13. A stent for supporting the wall of a vessel comprising a tubular body having at least two annular segments interconnected by a plurality of connectors, the tubular body having a wall including an inner wall surface and an outer wall surface defining a wall thickness therebetween, the tubular body farther having a plurality of openings between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface, the tubular body being expandable from a radially contracted condition to a radially expanded condition, at least one annular segment being configured such that a first portion of the at least one annular segment has a first outer wall surface width and a first wall thickness and a second portion of the at least one annular segment has a second outer wall surface width and a second wall thickness, the first outer wall surface width being greater than the second outer wall surface width and the first wall thickness being less than the second wall thickness such that the outer wall surface of the first portion of the at least one annular segment provides greater support to the wall of the vessel than the outer wall surface of the second portion of the at least one annular segment.
Specification