HIGHLY FLEXIBLE STENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE

摘要

Preferred embodiments of a stent with a high degree of flexibility are shown and described. The stent can include a continuous helical winding having interconnected struts joined at vertices, and having bridges connecting sections of the helical winding to each other. An annular ring can be provided at one or both ends of the helical winding, and the annular ring can have extensions extending to connect to the helical winding. One of the extensions can connect to a bridge and another extension can connect to a vertex. The struts at the ends of the helical winding can have strut lengths that differ from the strut lengths of the struts in a central portion of the winding between the ends of the winding.

主权项

1. A method of manufacturing an implantable prosthesis, comprising:
forming a first pattern defining a continuous helical winding having a plurality of circumferential sections circumscribing a longitudinal axis from a first end to a second end, the circumferential sections being spaced apart along the axis and including a plurality of struts joined together end-to-end, the end-to-end joining of two struts of the plurality of struts defining a vertex between the two struts, a plurality of bridges connecting one circumferential section to an adjacent circumferential section; and forming a second pattern defining an annular ring having a first extension and a second extension extending therefrom and connecting to the first or second ends of the continuous helical winding, the first extension connecting to an end vertex at the first or second end, the second extension connecting to one of the plurality of bridges, the annular ring including a plurality of struts with adjacent struts joined together.