Crimpable intraluminal endoprosthesis having helical elements

Abstract

A stent having helical elements, a geometry for improved crimping, and a good stent-to-vessel ratio is disclosed. In one embodiment, the stent has a plurality of first helical segments and a plurality of second opposing helical segments. The first helical segments are comprised of a plurality of first expandable elements and the second helical segments are comprised of a plurality of second helical elements. The expandable elements are joined to each other by a plurality of struts. When the stent is crimped a portion of one of the first expandable elements nest within another portion of the same expandable element and a portion of two first expandable elements nestle between the same two portions of second expandable elements.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 267,778, filed on Feb. 9, 2001, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference, and it is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 511,481, filed on Feb. 23, 2000, which is also hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference and which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 094,402, filed Jun. 10, 1998 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,165).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to intraluminal endoprosthetic devices known as stents. In particular, the present invention relates to stents having helical elements with a geometry that allows the stent to be readily crimped onto a delivery device. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] Stents are prosthetic devices that are implanted in the lumen of a vessel inside the body to provide support for the vessel's wall. Structural support from stents is par...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] The present invention is directed to expandable stents that have geometries that allow them to be readily crimped onto a balloon delivery device. In one embodiment, the stent may be comprised of a plurality of first helical segment having a first helical angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the stent and a plurality of second helical segments that have a second helical angl

Problems solved by technology

These include, but are not limited to: (i) low stent-to-vessel ratio uniformity, (ii) comparative rigidity of the stent in a crimped as well as deployed state, and (iii) limited flexibility making delivery and placement in narrow vessels difficult.

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