Atraumatic stent crowns

摘要

Methods and apparatuses of atraumatic stents with likely reduced rates of tissue perforation are provided. The stents of the invention have crowns with crown tips having apexes made of a radial force reducing material. The apexes are soft and flexible and reduce the radial force at the crown relative to the stent body allowing the crowns to collapse with greater ease compared to the central portion of the stent.

主权项

1. A stent comprising
(a) a tubular stent body having a first end and a second end, the tubular stent body comprising a wire; and (b) a first crown comprising a circumferential row of first crown tips, each first crown tip respectively comprising:
(i) a first wire segment of the wire extending from and free from overlap with the tubular stent body, the first wire segment having a proximal end and a distal end;(ii) a second wire segment of the wire extending from and free from overlap with the tubular stent body, the second wire segment having a proximal end and a distal end; and(iii) an apex; wherein the proximal end of the first wire segment and the proximal end of the second wire segment are each integrally connected with the first end of the tubular stent body and the distal end of the first wire segment and the distal end of the second wire segment are connected to the apex; and wherein each apex of a plurality of the first crown tips comprises, respectively, a radial force reducing connector segment connecting to, and occupying a space between, the distal end of the first wire segment and the distal end of the second wire segment of the plurality of the first crown tips, the radial force reducing connector segment being made of a softer and more flexible material than the first and second wire segments such that each crown tip of the plurality of first crown tips has greater radial flexibility than an equivalent crown tip having an apex made of the same material as the first and second wire segments.