摘要 |
With the foregoing in mind, the stent as described in this invention comprises a plurality of expandable cells. The cells are arranged circumferentially about the stent so that the stent in an unexpanded condition has a generally cylindrical construction and the expandable cells contain at least one metal bridge and at least one other circumferential arrangement of cells, and the bridge is initially arranged in a folded condition in the stent. When the cells expand, the bridge lengthens to a generally straight configuration. This straight configuration forms an arc of a circle about the cylindrical expandable stent. Ideally, there are multiple bridge connections made so that the stent has a full circumferential solid cross section along at least a portion of the cylindrical device.
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