SELECTIVE TREATMENT OF STENT SIDE BRANCH PETALS

摘要

A stent may include a side branch cell comprising a plurality of petals (40). When deployed in a bifurcated vessel (30), petals located near the inside of the bifurcation may experience high amounts of bending. A petal may include a predetermined bending region (50) in which the petal is treated and may have less bending strength. Therefore, the petal will bend at the predetermined bending region in a predetermined fashion. A bending region may be heat-treated to reduce strength, may comprise less cross-sectional area than other portions of the petal, etc.