| 摘要 |
An expandable stent is implanted in a body lumen, such as a coronary artery, peripheral artery, or other body lumen. The stent includes a plurality of rings connected by links. The stent has a high degree of flexibility in the longitudinal direction, yet has adequate vessel wall coverage and radial strength sufficient to hold open an artery or other body lumen. The stent can be compressed or crimped onto a catheter to a very low profile since links are integrally formed from a portion of the struts forming the rings. The stent is constructed so that the cylindrical rings are very close together in order to provide maximum scaffolding, and if the stent has a drug coating, to provide a uniform drug delivery over the length of the stent. The connecting links are integrally formed from a portion of the struts forming the rings so that the links can have a maximum length thereby providing increased longitudinal flexibility of the stent. |
| 主权项 |
1. A stent, comprising:
a tubular member having a plurality of rings spaced apart along a longitudinal axis, each ring having a distal end and a proximal end, each ring having a first delivery position and a second expanded position; the rings having curved portions forming a plurality of distally-extending peaks and a plurality of proximally-extending peaks, the distally-extending peaks and the proximally-extending peaks being connected by first struts and second struts, the second strut having a width which tapers from a first width to a second, larger width, wherein adjacent distally-extending peaks are spaced apart to define a space therebetween when the rings are in the first delivery position, the space extending from a first strut and second strut on each ring to the ends of the adjacent distally-extending peaks; and a plurality of S-shaped links for connecting adjacent cylindrical rings, a portion of the S-shaped links being integrally formed from a portion of the second struts, each of the S-shaped links extending from the larger width of the second strut, wherein a portion of the second struts splits into a first link arm and a bar arm, the first link arm being separated from the bar arm by a gap, each S-shaped link including a second link arm and a third link arm, the first, second and third link arms being connected together and placed in a side-by-side relationship and at least a portion of each of the first, second and third link arms is located within the above-defined space when the rings are placed in the first delivery position. |
