STENT INCLUDING A TOGGLE LOCK STRUT

摘要

A tubular stent includes cylindrical rings disposed adjacent to each other and coupled to each other by a plurality of longitudinal segments. Each cylindrical ring includes circumferentially oriented toggle lock struts. The toggle lock struts include a first arm and a second arm coupled together at an elbow. When the stent is in a compressed configuration for delivery, the toggle lock struts are bent at the elbow such that the first arm is disposed at an angle of less than 180 degrees relative to the second arm. Upon radial expansion of the stent, the toggle lock struts are unbent to a straight configuration and permitted to relax slightly beyond the straight configuration to a locked configuration such that the angle between the first arm and the second arm changes from less than 180 degrees to more than 180 degrees.