Helical stent having improved flexibility and expandability
First Claim
1. A stent for insertion into a vessel of a patient, comprising:
- a tubular member having a first smaller diameter for insertion into the vessel, and a second larger diameter for deployment within the vessel, the tubular member including;
first and second cylindrical end portions; and
first and second transition zones connecting the first and second end portions, respectively, to a central portion, the first and second transition zones each including a plurality of transition undulations having struts that progressively increase in length from a shortest strut to a longest strut, wherein a longer strut of the transition undulations has a wider width than a shorter strut of the transition undulations, and each of the longer struts have opposing ends connected to loops adjoining adjacent struts, a terminal end of a strut of the central portion adjoining the longest strut of the transition zone between the opposing ends of the longest strut,the central portion comprised of a plurality of helical circumferential windings separated by a helical space, each of the windings including a plurality of undulations, with each undulation being defined by two adjacent struts and a loop connecting the struts, wherein adjacent windings of the central portion are connected with a plurality of bridges, the bridges extending across the helical space between adjacent windings and connected to the loops of a plurality of the undulations, wherein a bridge spacing of the central portion includes;
a same number of struts traversed from any one bridge to a next bridge on each of the windings when traveling along the windings either from a first circumferential location to a second circumferential location spaced from the first circumferential location or from the second circumferential location to the first circumferential location, the same number of struts determined by identifying the any one bridge disposed on one side of said windings and counting the number of struts traversed to reach the next bridge disposed on an opposite side of the one of said windings,wherein the first and second transition zones are connected to the central portion by bridges spaced according to the bridge spacing of the central portion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A stent includes a central portion of helically wound undulations formed of struts, cylindrical end portions, and transition zones between the helical portion and the cylindrical portions. According to a first aspect of the invention, the torsional flexibility of the stent is maximized by having bridges connecting adjacent winding be interrupted by the maximum possible number of undulations. In a preferred design, each winding includes nineteen undulations around the circumference, bridges are provided every five undulations. According to a second aspect of the invention, uniform, opening of the transition zone is achieved by altering the width, and thereby the flexibility, of a series of struts in accordance with their lengths. Specifically, the long transition zone struts are made wider.
155 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A stent for insertion into a vessel of a patient, comprising:
a tubular member having a first smaller diameter for insertion into the vessel, and a second larger diameter for deployment within the vessel, the tubular member including; first and second cylindrical end portions; and first and second transition zones connecting the first and second end portions, respectively, to a central portion, the first and second transition zones each including a plurality of transition undulations having struts that progressively increase in length from a shortest strut to a longest strut, wherein a longer strut of the transition undulations has a wider width than a shorter strut of the transition undulations, and each of the longer struts have opposing ends connected to loops adjoining adjacent struts, a terminal end of a strut of the central portion adjoining the longest strut of the transition zone between the opposing ends of the longest strut, the central portion comprised of a plurality of helical circumferential windings separated by a helical space, each of the windings including a plurality of undulations, with each undulation being defined by two adjacent struts and a loop connecting the struts, wherein adjacent windings of the central portion are connected with a plurality of bridges, the bridges extending across the helical space between adjacent windings and connected to the loops of a plurality of the undulations, wherein a bridge spacing of the central portion includes; a same number of struts traversed from any one bridge to a next bridge on each of the windings when traveling along the windings either from a first circumferential location to a second circumferential location spaced from the first circumferential location or from the second circumferential location to the first circumferential location, the same number of struts determined by identifying the any one bridge disposed on one side of said windings and counting the number of struts traversed to reach the next bridge disposed on an opposite side of the one of said windings, wherein the first and second transition zones are connected to the central portion by bridges spaced according to the bridge spacing of the central portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A stent for insertion into a vessel of a patient, comprising:
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a tubular member having a first smaller diameter for insertion into the vessel, and a second larger diameter for deployment within the vessel, the tubular member including a central portion comprised of a plurality of helical circumferential windings separated by a helical space, each of the windings including a plurality of undulations, with each undulation being defined by two adjacent struts and a loop connecting the struts, wherein adjacent windings are connected with a plurality of bridges, the bridges extending across the helical space between the adjacent winding and connected to the loops of a plurality of the undulations, wherein a bridge spacing of the central portion includes a same number of struts traversed from any one bridge to a next bridge on each of the windings when traveling along the windings either from a first circumferential location to a second circumferential location spaced from the first circumferential location or from the second circumferential location to the first circumferential location, the same number of struts determined by identifying the any one bridge disposed on one side of said windings and counting the number of struts traversed to reach the next bridge disposed on an opposite side of the one of said windings, wherein, for at least one of the windings, for any given number n of undulations on the winding and any given number b of bridges connected to the winding, where n is not equal to b, the tubular member also having a transition zone between the central portion and a cylindrical end portion, the transition zone including a plurality of transition undulations having struts that progressively increase in length from a shortest strut to a longest strut, wherein a longer strut of the transition undulations has a wider width than a shorter strut of the transition undulations, each of the longer struts having opposing ends connected to loops adjoining adjacent struts, a terminal end of a strut of the central portion adjoining the longest strut of the transition zone between the opposing ends of the longest strut wherein the transition zone is connected to the central portion by bridges spaced according to the bridge spacing of the central portion. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A stent for insertion into a vessel of a patient, comprising:
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a tubular member having a first smaller diameter for insertion into the vessel, and a second larger diameter for deployment within the vessel, and defining a longitudinal axis, the tubular member including a central portion comprised of a plurality of helical circumferential windings separated by a helical space, each of the windings including a plurality of undulations, with each the undulation being defined by two adjacent struts and a loop connecting the struts;
wherein adjacent windings are connected with a plurality of bridges, the bridges extending across the helical space between the adjacent windings and connected to the loops of a plurality of the undulations, wherein a bridge spacing of the central portion includes a same number of struts traversed from any one bridge to a next bridge on each of the windings when traveling along the windings either from a first circumferential location to a second circumferential location spaced from the first circumferential location or from the second circumferential location to the first circumferential location, the same number of struts determined by identifying the any one bridge disposed on one side of said windings and counting the number of struts traversed to reach the next bridge disposed on an opposite side of the one of said windings;at least one cylindrical end portion at an end of the central portion; and a transition zone between the central portion and each of the cylindrical end portions, the transition zone including a plurality of transition undulations having struts that progressively increase in length from a shortest strut to a longest strut, wherein a longer strut of the transition undulations has a wider width than a shorter strut of the transition undulations, each of the longer struts having opposing ends connected to loops adjoining adjacent struts, a terminal end of a strut of the central portion adjoining the longest strut of the transition zone between the opposing ends of the longest strut wherein the transition zone is connected to the central portion by bridges spaced according to the bridge spacing of the central portion. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification