A stent design reduces the likelihood of contact among structural members when the stent diameter is reduced before insertion into the body. In one approach, an undulating link has a J-shaped profile or has an angled portion on one side at the peak of the link, in order to reduce contact during crimping. The stent may also include structural features that improve such aspects as flexibility, the coatibility of a drug coating onto the stent, flare reduction, stent retention within the body and/or reduction of the minimum diameter of the stent during crimping.

A stent (scaffold) or other luminal prosthesis comprising circumferential structural elements which provides high strength after deployment and allows for scaffold to uncage, and/or allow for scaffold or luminal expansion thereafter. The circumferential scaffold may be formed from degradable material, or may be formed from non-degradable material and will be modified to expand and/or uncage after deployment.

An intravascular stent is provided to be implanted in coronary arteries and other body lumens. The transverse cross-section of at least some of the stent struts have a ratio of polar and bending moments of inertia, which results in optimal resistance to stent twisting. This resistance to twisting ratio for the stent struts minimizes out of plane twisting of the struts or projecting edges of the struts when the stent is expanded from a compressed diameter to an expanded diameter in a coronary artery.

A radially expandable, tubular stent, includes a first section having a first crush resistance force and a second section have a second crush resistance force, wherein the first crush resistance force is less than the second crush resistance force. The first section is connected to the second section to form a tube, connection of the first and second sections extending in an axial direction of the tube.

An endoluminal prosthesis system for a branched body lumen comprises a branch vessel prosthesis. The branch vessel prosthesis is deployable within a branch vessel body lumen and comprises a stent having a generally tubular body portion, a flareable proximal end portion, and a coupling portion disposed intermediate the body portion and the flareable portion. The coupling portion is more crush-resistant than the body portion. The flareable proximal end may be disposed within a fenestrated stent graft with coupling portion disposed in the fenestration of the fenestrated stent graft.

This invention is directed to an expandable stent for implantation in a body lumen, such as an artery, and a method for making it from a single length of tubing. The stent consists of a plurality of radially expandable cylindrical elements generally aligned on a common axis and interconnected by one or more links. A Y-shaped member is comprised of a U-shaped member and a link having a curved portion and a straight portion to improve the flexibility and thereby improve the fatigue performance of the Y-link junction.

Delivery systems are disclosed for bioresorbable scaffolds that decrease in length when expanded to a deployment diameter that allow accurate positioning of the scaffold at a lesion. The scaffolds are mounted on a catheter that includes marker bands that are positioned interior to the proximal and distal edges of the crimped scaffold to anticipate the shortening of the scaffold upon deployment. Delivery systems are further disclosed for bioresorbable scaffolds that increase in length when expanded to a deployment diameter that allow accurate positioning of the scaffold at a lesion. The scaffolds are mounted on a catheter that includes marker bands that are positioned exterior to the proximal and distal edges of the crimped scaffold to anticipate the lengthening of the scaffold upon deployment.

A radiopaque marker having a frame and a radiopaque cuff joined to the frame. The frame includes first and second end frame members and lateral frame members. The radiopaque cuff is joined to the frame such that the radiopaque cuff is substantially co-planar with the first and second end frame members. The radiopaque marker may be joined to a stent, such as for vascular interventions. Variants of the stent include bare metal stents and drug-eluting stents. Embodiments of the stent include end projections for radiopaque markers or a discontinuous partial radiopaque coating on low-stress or low-strain regions of the peripheral stent. The stents are characterized by having thin walls, nested rows of struts, high expansion ratio, high and uniform radial force over entire diametric size and length of device, crush resistance up to and including about 90% of its fully expanded diameter, high fatigue resistance and high corrosion resistance.

A biodegradable stent prosthesis formed from a degradable material, having a plurality of luminal, abluminal, and side surface regions, wherein a surface portion extending between the abluminal and luminal surface region of at least some structural elements is convex.

Disclosed is an injection molding method for a degradable intravascular stent with a flexible mold core structure. The injection molding method includes the following steps: Step 1, winding a metal rod with a flexible metal film, and applying an inward bending stress to the flexible metal film; Step 2, fixing the flexible metal film to the metal rod, and processing a complementary structure of the degradable intravascular stent on the surface of the flexible metal film; Step 3, performing injection molding processing: Step 4, ending the injection molding, removing the mating body of the flexible metal film and the metal rod and the degradable intravascular stent formed on the surface of the flexible metal film by injection molding, performing cooling, separating the metal rod from the flexible metal film, withdrawing the metal rod, and then removing the flexible metal film to obtain a formed degradable intravascular stent.