A plaque tack can be used for holding plaque against blood vessel walls such as in treating atherosclerotic occlusive disease. The plaque tack can be formed as a thin, annular band for holding loose plaque under a spring or other expansion force against a blood vessel wall. Focal elevating elements and/or other features, such as anchors, can be used to exert a holding force on a plaque position while minimizing the amount of material surface area in contact with the plaque or blood vessel wall and reducing the potential of friction with the endoluminal surface. This approach offers clinicians the ability to perform a minimally invasive post-angioplasty treatment and produce a stent-like result without using a stent.

An absorbable stent includes an absorbable matrix. The matrix includes a number of wave-shaped rings connected by connection units and arranged in an axial direction. The wave-shaped ring includes a number of waves arranged in a circumferential direction. A peak, a valley and a support connecting the peak and the valley form the wave. Two adjacent wave-shaped rings and the connection unit form a closed side supporting unit. The matrix has a volume of [4, 40] μm per unit blood vessel area. The absorbable stent has sufficient radial supporting strength for clinical applications. Moreover, the volume of the matrix per unit blood vessel area is less than volumes of existing stents. When the absorbable stent and existing stents are made of the same material, the absorbable stent has a shorter degradation and absorption cycle.

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.

A stent includes a strut formed into a cylindrical shape and extending in an axial direction. The strut includes outer peripheral portions extending around the axial and circumferential directions of the cylindrical shape. The outer peripheral portions are spaced apart from one another with gaps formed between adjacent outer peripheral portions. The strut includes a connection portion connecting the outer peripheral portions to each other in one of the gaps formed by the adjacent outer peripheral portions. The outer peripheral portions and the connection portion of the strut are integrally formed of a biodegradable polymer A portion of the strut includes a fragile portion which is snore fragile than other portions of the strut.

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.

A prosthesis is disclosed for placement at an Os opening from a main body lumen to a branch body lumen. The prosthesis includes a radially expansible support at one end, a circumferentially extending link at the other end and at least one frond extending axially therebetween. The support is configured to be deployed in the branch body lumen, with the circumferentially extending link in the main lumen and the frond extendable across the Os.

Provided is a flexible stent with which it is possible to further improve visibility of an impermeable member which is disposed upon a stent and to further improve operability of the stent. Provided is a flexible stent 11, comprising: a plurality of ring-shaped pattern bodies 13 which have a wavy line-shaped pattern and are positioned side by side in an axial direction LD; and a plurality of connecting elements 15 which connect the adjacent ring-shaped pattern bodies 13. When viewed in a radial direction RD which is perpendicular to the axial direction LD, a ring direction CD of the ring-shaped pattern bodies 13 is or is not oblique with respect to the radial direction RD. A plurality of impermeable members 31 which are highly impermeable to radiation are disposed upon and/or positioned in proximity to struts which configure the ring-shaped pattern bodies 13 and/or the connecting elements 15. The plurality of impermeable members 31 are arrayed regularly along one or more of the ring direction CD, an axial direction LD, or a circumference direction of the flexible stent.

A stent able to minimize occurrences of strain and stress concentration in a drug coat layer upon expansive deformation of the stent in a radial direction to avoid the possibility of the drug separating from the stent, includes a stent body and a drug coating layer coated on the outside surface of the stent body so that the thickness of the drug coating layer gradually decreases toward a bent portion of the stent.

The invention relates to a medical device and a method of using it. The device is a stent which can be percutaneously deliverable with (or on) an endovascular catheter or via other surgical or other techniques and then expanded. The stent is configured to have a central portion defined by “open” cells and at least two end portions, defined by “closed” cells, spaced apart and directly connected to the distal and proximal ends of the central portion of the stent. The stent may also optionally have a covering or a lattice with openings.

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.