Intravascular stent

Abstract

An intravascular stent (100, 200, 300) comprises a framework with openings and at least one radiopaque structure (103, 201, 301). Each radiopaque structure (103, 201, 301) comprises fixed bodies and radiopaque markers (105, 208, 307) filled in the fixed bodies. The fixed bodies are connected with the framework, and are at least partially disposed in the openings. The envelope enclosed area of all the radiopaque markers (105, 208, 307) in each radiopaque structure (103, 201, 301) is less than or equal to 2 mm.sup.2, and a sum of effective areas of all the radiopaque markers (105, 208, 307) in each radiopaque structure (103, 201, 301) is greater than or equal to 0.15 mm.sup.2, and a ratio of said sum of effective areas to said envelope enclosed area is greater than or equal to 1:5. The radiopaque structure (103, 201, 301) has a desirable visibility, and does not substantially affect the crimped diameter of the intravascular stent (100, 200, 300).

Claims

1. An intravascular stent, comprising a framework having openings and at least one radiopaque structure, wherein each of said at least one radiopaque structures comprises fixed bodies and radiopaque markers filled in said fixed bodies, with said fixed bodies connected with said framework, and said fixed bodies are at least partially disposed in said openings, wherein an envelope enclosed area of all the radiopaque markers in each of said at least one radiopaque structures is less than or equal to 2 mm.sup.2, and a sum of effective areas of all the radiopaque markers in each of said at least one radiopaque structures is greater than or equal to 0.15 mm.sup.2, and a ratio of said sum of effective areas to said envelope enclosed area is greater than or equal to 1:5.

2. The intravascular stent according to claim 1, wherein said envelope enclosed area is less than or equal to 1.5 mm.sup.2.

3. The intravascular stent according to claim 1, wherein said envelope enclosed area is less than or equal to 0.7 mm.sup.2.

4. The intravascular stent according to claim 1, wherein said sum of effective areas is greater than or equal to 0.19 mm.sup.2.

5. The intravascular stent according to claim 1, wherein said sum of effective areas is greater than or equal to 0.22 mm.sup.2.

6. The intravascular stent according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of said sum of effective areas to said envelope enclosed area is greater than or equal to 1:4.

7. The intravascular stent according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of said sum of effective areas to said envelope enclosed area is greater than or equal to 1:3.2.

8. The intravascular stent according to claim 1, wherein said radiopaque markers are a heavy metal or a mixture of heavy metal and polymer, and the heavy metal has a mass fraction, and the mass fraction of heavy metal in said mixture is greater than or equal to 70%.

9. The intravascular stent according to claim 8, wherein said heavy metal is at least one of gold, platinum, osmium, rhenium, tungsten, iridium, rhodium or tantalum, and said polymer is selected from PLLA, PLGA, PAGA, PGLA or PLA.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 illustrates an axially unfolded view of an intravascular stent according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates a partially enlarged structural view of a radiopaque structure of an intravascular stent according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure.

(3) FIG. 3 illustrates DSA images of intravascular stents according to embodiments 1-3 of the present disclosure.

(4) FIG. 4 illustrates a structural view of a radiopaque structure according to embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

(5) FIG. 5 illustrates a structural view of a radiopaque structure according to embodiment 3 of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(6) To help understand the present disclosure, the disclosure will be further explained comprehensively by referring to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are provided. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different ways and not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present disclosure more thorough and complete.

(7) Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein generally have the same meaning as commonly understood by technicians in the field. The terms used in the description herein are only intended to illustrate the purposes of the embodiments, but not to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

(8) The term connected used herein may refer to a direct connection of a component A with a component B, or an inter-connection of a component A and a component B via an another component C.

(9) The present disclosure makes improvements to the radiopaque structure of metal-based stents with wall thickness less than 80 m or polymer stents with wall thickness less than 120 m, considering the fact that the visibility of said stents should be improved by increasing the effective radiopaque area of the radiopaque structure, with the precondition of assuring that the increased effective radiopaque area does not have a large impact on the crimped diameter of the stent.

(10) Specifically, the present disclosure relates to an intravascular stent that comprises at least one radiopaque structure, which is connected to a stent framework with openings. Each radiopaque structure comprises fixed bodies with holes and radiopaque markers filled within. The fixed bodies may have at least one hole disposed on the framework. That is, a part of the radiopaque markers may be located on the framework, while the other part of the fixed bodies may be located in the openings and connected with the framework through additional connectors. Alternatively, the fixed bodies are all disposed in the openings and directly connected with the framework. That is, the radiopaque markers are all disposed in the openings. Alternative y, the fixed bodies are all disposed in the openings and connected with the framework through additional connectors. That is, the radiopaque markers are all located in the openings.

(11) The shape of said radiopaque markers is circle, ellipse, triangle, polygon, or other irregular geometrical shape. The filling processes of radiopaque markers include tamping, hot-pressing, press-riveting, welding, sintering, plating or coating, etc.

(12) The present disclosure relates to an intravascular stent, of which the effective radiopaque area, the envelope enclosed area and the ratio therebetween are key parameters for determining the visibility of the radiopaque structure. The effective radiopaque area refers to a sum of the area of the radiopaque markers filled in the fixed bodies. The envelope refers to a closed curve that is formed by meeting the most prominent points on the edge of all the radiopaque markers filled in the fixed body of each radiopaque structure in an internally tangent manner by using a smooth transition curve.

(13) In the case that the wall thickness of the intravascular stent is fixed, the total amount of the radiopaque markers in each radiopaque structure is determined by the effective radiopaque area. The total area occupied by the radiopaque markers distributed in the holes is characterized by the enclosed area of the envelope. The degree of density of the radiopaque markers within the envelope is characterized by the ratio of the effective area to the envelope enclosed area. In the case that the thickness is fixed, the visibility of the radiopaque structures is influenced by the effective radiopaque area, the envelope enclosed area and the ratio of the effective radiopaque area to the envelope enclosed area. Wherein, the radiopaque structure has the visibility only when the effective radiopaque area is greater than a certain value. With sufficient effective radiopaque area, the larger the envelope enclosed area, the larger the radiopaque area produced by the radiopaque structure under the DSA equipment, which is helpful for visual identification. However, the larger the envelope enclosed area means the larger the distribution of radiopaque markers on the stent framework, which means the higher possibility of affecting the mechanical property of the stent. Therefore, the enclosed area of the envelope should be limited to a certain range. The larger the ratio of the effective radiopaque area to the envelope enclosed area, the denser the distribution of the radiopaque markers. If the ratio is equal to 1:1, all the radiopaque markers in each radiopaque structure are gathered to a whole body, which means the radiopaque markers are inter-connected without a gap. The smaller the ratio of the effective radiopaque area to the envelope enclosed area, the more sparse the distribution of all the radiopaque markers in each radiopaque structure. If the distribution of all the radiopaque markers in each radiopaque structure is too sparse, which means the gaps among the radiopaque markers are too large, the radiopaque markers cannot interconnect to realize a radiopaque structure with good visibility, and each radiopaque marker cannot realize a clear marker for visual identification as well. Namely, in order to ensure a high visibility of each radiopaque structure, the effective radiopaque area, the envelope enclosed area and the ratio therebetween of all the radiopaque markers in each radiopaque structure should be limited to an appropriate range.

(14) In the present disclosure, the envelope enclosed area of all radiopaque markers in each radiopaque structure may be less than or equal to 2 mm.sup.2, a sum of effective areas of all the radiopaque markers may be greater than or equal to 0.15 mm.sup.2, and a ratio of the sum of effective areas to the envelope enclosed area may be greater than or equal to 1:5. Further, a sum of the effective areas may be greater than or equal to 0.19 mm.sup.2. Moreover, a sum of the effective areas may be greater than or equal to 0.22 mm.sup.2. A ratio of the sum of effective areas to the envelope enclosed area may be greater than or equal to 1:4. Further, a ratio of the sum of effective areas to the envelope enclosed area may be greater than or equal to 1:3.2. The area of the radiopaque marker in each fixed body may be less than 0.1 mm.sup.2.

(15) It is noted that the thickness of the radiopaque marker may be slightly greater or smaller than the thickness of the fixed body, or may be the same as the thickness of the fixed body, that is, being flush with the fixed body. If the thickness of the radiopaque marker is greater than the thickness of the fixed body, the visibility is improved. If the thickness of the radiopaque marker is smaller than the thickness of the fixed body, the visibility is weakened. Also, the boundary of the radiopaque marker may coincide with the boundary of the hole in the fixed body, or alternatively not coincide. If the radiopaque marker protrudes slightly from the boundary of the hole in the fixed body, the effective radiopaque area of the radiopaque marker does not contain the radiopaque marker outside the boundary of the hole. If the hole of the fixed body is not fully filled with the radiopaque marker, which means there is a gap between the radiopaque marker and the fixed body, the effective radiopaque area of the radiopaque marker does not contain the gap.

(16) Also, the effective radiopaque area refers to an area of a visible pattern that is formed by the radiopaque markers under DSA, of which can be observed by naked eyes. That is, a visible pattern formed by all the radiopaque markers. If an intravascular stent still comprises an ineffective radiopaque marker that does not contribute to the visibility, for example, with the long distance apart, the ineffective radiopaque marker fails to combine with an effective radiopaque marker to enhance the visibility, the ineffective radiopaque marker is not construed to be the effective radiopaque marker described herein. The ineffective radiopaque marker is not included in the radiopaque structure of the present disclosure. Correspondingly, the ineffective radiopaque marker is excluded from the envelope defined herein. That is, the envelope of the present disclosure is not the closed curve that is formed by meeting the most prominent points on the edge of the effective radiopaque markers as well as the most prominent points on the edge of the effective radiopaque markers in an internally tangent manner by using a smooth transition curve. With the value of the effective radiopaque area, the envelope enclosed area and the ratio therebetween, being satisfied, as disclosed above, there are multiple solutions on how to set the position and size relationships among various separated radiopaque markers. The technical solution of the present disclosure will be further described below by referring to the particular embodiments.

Embodiment 1

(17) Please refer to FIG. 1, which illustrates a structural schematic view of an unfolded intravascular stent 100 along the axial direction. The intravascular stent 100 is a thin-wall iron-based tubular structure having a thickness of 50 m, and having axial and circumferential directions. In practice, the axial direction of the stent is provided substantially along the axial direction of a blood vessel.

(18) Please refer to both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The intravascular stent 100 comprises a plurality of separated wave-shaped rings 101. Each wave-shaped ring 101 comprises a plurality of O-shaped sine wave unit 1011 which are connected end to end. Each sine wave unit comprises peaks 1012 and valleys 1013. The looping direction of each wave-shaped ring 101 is the circumferential direction of the stent 100. Any two adjacent wave-shaped rings 101 are connected through a connecting rod 102. Among any two adjacent wave-shaped rings 101, all the peaks of one wave-shaped ring 101 are axially aligned with all the valleys of the other wave-shaped ring 101. The connecting rod 102 between two adjacent wave-shaped rings 101 is connected with the peaks of one wave-shaped ring 101 and the valleys of the other wave-shaped ring 101. The plurality of wave-shaped rings 101 and the connecting rods 102 constitute a framework of the intravascular stent 100, and the gaps between all the wave-shaped rings 101 constitute the openings, with the connecting rods 102 being excluded.

(19) The plurality of wave-shaped rings 101 includes a proximal ring 101a and a distal ring 101b, which are located at the axial ends of the intravascular stent 100 respectively. The first wave-shaped ring 104a is adjacent to the proximal ring 101a, and the second wave-shaped ring 104b is adjacent to the distal ring 101b. The proximal radiopaque structure 103a is connected with the proximal ring 101a and the first wave-shaped ring 104a. The distal radiopaque structure 103b is connected with the distal ring 101b and the second wave-shaped ring 104b. Namely, in this embodiment, both the proximal radiopaque structure 103a and the distal radiopaque structure 103b are located in the openings, and directly connected with the framework. The proximal radiopaque structure 103a and the distal radiopaque structure 103b have the same shape and dimension. To take the proximal radiopaque structure 103a, for example in following paragraph, the radiopaque structure of the intravascular stent of the present disclosure will be described.

(20) FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the intravascular stent 100 of FIG. 1, which comprises the proximal radiopaque structure 103a. As shown in FIG. 2, the proximal radiopaque structure 103a comprises four ring-shaped and interconnected fixed bodies, and the radiopaque markers 105 that are filled in the hole of each fixed body. In this embodiment, the material of the radiopaque markers 105 is gold. The holes include a first fixing hole 106, a second fixing hole 107, a third fixing hole 108 and a fourth fixing hole 109, which are all elliptic.

(21) The four holes have different inside diameters. Among them, the first fixing hole 106 and the third fixing hole 108 have the same inside diameter. The central connection line of the first fixing hole 106 and the third fixing hole 108 is parallel to the axial center line of the intravascular stent 100, that is, the central connection line of the radiopaque markers in these two fixing holes is parallel to the axial center line of the framework. The second fixing hole 107 and the fourth fixing hole 109 have the same inside diameter. The central connection line of the second fixing hole 107 and the fourth fixing hole 109 is along the circumferential direction of the intravascular stent 100. The first fixing hole 106, the second fixing hole 107, the third fixing hole 108 and the fourth fixing hole 109 are connected end to end, and located in the gap between the proximal ring 101a and the first wave-shaped ring 104a.

(22) The first fixing hole 106 is directly connected with the peaks of the proximal ring 101a, and located on the side of one peak 112 of the proximal ring 101a, facing the first wave-shaped ring 104a. The third fixing hole 108 is directly connected with the valleys of the first wave-shaped ring 104a, and located on the side of the first wave-shaped ring 104a, facing the first peak 114 of the proximal ring 101a. The second fixing hole 107 is connected with the proximal ring 101a and the first wave-shaped ring 104a through the first fixing hole 106 and the third fixing hole 108 respectively. Similarly, the fourth fixing hole 109 is connected with the proximal ring 101a and the first wave-shaped ring 104a through the first fixing hole 106 and the third fixing hole 108 respectively. Namely, each fixing hole is connected with two adjacent fixing holes in a way of sharing a part of the boundary to cluster as a whole body. The second fixing hole 107 and the fourth fixing hole 109 have a relatively smaller area, and are showed in ellipse, with the major diameter direction being along the circumferential direction of the stent and the minor diameter direction being along the axial direction of the stent. The second fixing hole 107 and the fourth fixing hole 109 are disposed between the proximal ring 101a and the first wave-shaped ring 104a. The four fixing holes described above are filled with the radiopaque markers 105, with the edge of the radiopaque markers 105 coinciding with the edge of each fixing hole. The thickness of the radiopaque markers 105 matches with the depth of each fixing hole, that is, the thickness of the radiopaque markers 105 is 50 m.

(23) In the structural view showing the dimension and shape with the intravascular stent unfolded axially, that is, in the axial unfolding view of the stent that is not expanded by a balloon, the most prominent points on the edges of the radiopaque markers 105 filled in the first fixed body 106, the second fixed body 107, the third fixed body 108 and the fourth fixed body 109 are connected sequentially by a curve, to form an approximately elliptic envelope 110. The major diameter of the envelope 110 is provided along the axial direction of the intravascular stent 100, and the minor diameter is provided along the circumferential direction of the intravascular stent 100. The enclosed area of the envelope 110 is 0.3863 mm.sup.2, the effective development area of the radiopaque structure 103, that is, the sum of areas of the radiopaque markers 105 in the first fixing hole 106, the second fixing hole 107, the third fixing hole 108 and the fourth fixing hole 109, is 0.2238 mm.sup.2, and the ratio of the effective radiopaque area to the enclosed area of the envelope 110 is 1:1.73.

(24) When the intravascular stent 100 is crimped, the proximal ring 101a and the first wave-shaped ring 104a that is connected with the proximal ring 101a deform circumferentially, the second fixing hole 107 and the fourth fixing hole 109 can enter the gap between the proximal ring 101a and the first wave-shaped ring 104a that is adjacent to the proximal ring, without limiting the proximal ring 101a and the first wave-shaped ring 104a, thereby not substantially affecting the crimped diameter of the stent. Based on the comparison test of the stent of this embodiment and a stent that has the same framework structure without a radiopaque structure, the crimped diameters are both 0.98 mm.

(25) FIG. 3 shows an image of the stent of FIG. 1, which is crimped on the surface of a balloon, with a part of the proximal radiopaque structure 103a being placed under a DSA equipment together with the balloon. In FIG. 3, the topmost row of black spots and the bottommost row of black spots are formed by the images of development rings of a balloon delivery system, and the image of the radiopaque structure 103a is located near to the first balloon development ring from the left in the topmost row and slightly lower than the position of the balloon development ring. It can be seen that although the radiopaque structure 103a comprises four separate radiopaque markers, the four radiopaque markers gather together and match with one another, visually representing an entire pattern with a desirable visibility.

(26) In this embodiment, the design of distributing the radiopaque markers 105 in the four fixing holes is advantageous to fix each radiopaque marker due to large thickness-to-width ratio of the radiopaque marker when filling the radiopaque marker in each fixing hole. Taking the radiopaque marker filled in the first fixing hole 106 in this embodiment as an instance, its thickness is equivalent to the stent thickness, being 50 m, and its maximum width is equivalent to the maximum width of the first fixing hole 106. The fixing hole 106 is elliptic, with the major diameter being 360 m. As a result, the radiopaque marker can be firmly secured into the first fixing hole 106 with the thickness-to-width ratio being 50:360.

(27) Also, the positional relationship of the four fixed bodies, i.e., the positional relationship of the four radiopaque markers, can be appropriately arranged and optimized, so that the fixed design of radiopaque structure would have minimal impact on the structure of stent framework, and would have no influence on the crimped diameter of the stent accordingly.

Embodiment 2

(28) FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of an intravascular stent 200 of this embodiment. Compared to embodiment 1, the framework of intravascular stent 200 of this embodiment has the same structure, while the difference from embodiment 1 is that the thickness of the intravascular stent 200 in this embodiment is 60 m.

(29) The radiopaque structure 201 in this embodiment comprises four fixed bodies with through-holes. The through-holes include a first fixing hole 204, a second fixing hole 205, a third fixing hole 206 and a fourth fixing hole 207, all of which are elliptic. The radiopaque markers 208 are a mixture of heavy metal platinum powder and PLLA, with the mass fraction of platinum powder being 90%. The radiopaque markers 208 are filled within each said fixing holes, and the area of radiopaque markers in each fixing hole is less than 0.1 mm.sup.2.

(30) The four holes have different inside diameters. Among them, the first fixing hole 204 and the third fixing hole 206 have the same inside diameter. The central connection line of the first fixing hole 204 and the third fixing hole 206 is provided along the axial direction of the intravascular stent 200, that is, the central connection line of the radiopaque markers in these two fixing holes is parallel to the axial center line of the intravascular stent 200. The second fixing hole 205 and the fourth fixing hole 207 have the same inside diameter which is smaller than the inside diameter of the first fixing hole 204 and the third fixing hole 206, and the central connection line of the second fixing hole 205 and the fourth fixing hole 207 is provided along the circumferential direction of the intravascular stent 200.

(31) The fixed body with the first fixing hole 204 is disposed on a proximal ring 202 and is a part of the proximal ring 202. The fixed body with the third fixing hole 206 is disposed on a first wave-shaped ring 203 and is a part of the first wave-shaped ring 203, wherein a valley 211 of the proximal ring 202 is axially aligned with a peak 203 of the first wave-shaped ring 203, and, a peak 212 of the proximal ring 202 is axially aligned with a valley 214 of the first wave-shaped ring 203.

(32) The second fixing hole 205 and the fourth fixing hole 207 are located in the gap between the proximal ring 202 and the first wave-shaped ring 203. The second fixing hole 205 and the fourth fixing hole 207 are connected through a connector 215. Namely, a part of the fixed body is located on the framework, and the other parts are located in the openings.

(33) The connector 215 comprises two branches located in the axial direction and two branches located in the circumferential direction. The two branches in the axial direction of the connector 215 are respectively connected with the peak 212 of the proximal ring 202 and the valley 214 of the first wave-shaped ring 203, and the two branches in the circumferential direction of the connector 215 are respectively connected with the second fixing hole 205 and the fourth fixing hole 207.

(34) In the structural view showing the dimension and shape of the intravascular stent unfolded axially, the most prominent points on the edges of the radiopaque markers 204 filled in the first fixed body 205, the second fixed body 206, the third fixed body 108 and the fourth fixed body 207 are connected sequentially by using a curve, to form an approximately tapered bowl-shaped envelope 209. The major diameter of the envelope 209 is provided along the axial direction of the intravascular stent 200, and the minor diameter is provided along the circumferential direction of the intravascular stent 200. The major diameter of the envelope 209 is 1.26 mm, and the minor diameter thereof is 0.73 mm. In this embodiment, the enclosed area of the envelope 209 is 0.6897 mm.sup.2, and the effective radiopaque area of the radiopaque structure 201 is 0.2134 mm.sup.2, and the ratio of the effective radiopaque area to the envelope enclosed area is 1:3.23.

(35) As compared to embodiment 1, the effective area of the radiopaque markers in this embodiment is approximate, but the enclosed area of the envelope 209 is larger, and the ratio of the effective radiopaque area to the envelope enclosed area is smaller, indicating that the distribution of the radiopaque markers is sparser. When the intravascular stent 200 is crimped, the proximal ring 202 and the first wave-shaped ring 203 connected therewith deform circumferentially. Since the second fixing hole 205 and the fourth fixing ho e 207 of the radiopaque structure 201 can enter the gap between the proximal ring 202 and its adjacent first wave-shaped ring 203, the proximal ring 202 and the first wave-shaped ring 203 will not be confined. Therefore, the impact of the radiopaque structure 103a on the wave-shaped ring during crimping is reduced. While as the first fixing hole 204 and the third fixing hole 206 are respectively located on the proximal ring 202 and the first wave-shaped ring 203 of the intravascular stent 200, during the inflation process, the deformation of the intravascular stent 200 may result in the change in position of the first fixing hole 204 and the third fixing hole 206, thereby not substantially affecting the crimped diameter of the stent. Based on the comparison test of the stent of this embodiment and a stent that has the same framework structure without a radiopaque structure, the crimped diameter of the stent without a radiopaque structure is 0.99 mm, and the crimped diameter of the stent in this embodiment is 1.00 mm, indicating no significant difference therebetween.

(36) FIG. 3 shows an image of the stent having the radiopaque structure of this embodiment under a DSA equipment. In the figure, the second stent from the right is the intravascular stent 200, it can be seen that the radiopaque structure 201 has a desirable visibility.

Embodiment 3

(37) FIG. 5 illustrates a partially enlarged structural view of the intravascular stent 300 provided for this embodiment. The thickness of the intravascular stent 300 of this embodiment is 70 m.

(38) In the figure, a radiopaque structure 301 is located at the proximal end of the intravascular stent 300, connected with a proximal ring 302 and a first wave-shaped ring 303; that is, the radiopaque structure 301 is entirely located in the openings and directly connected with the framework. The radiopaque structure 301 comprises three fixed bodies with holes and radiopaque markers 307 filled within. In this embodiment, the radiopaque marker 307 is tantalum. The holes include a first fixing hole 304 and a third fixing hole 306, which are round, and a second fixing hole 305, which is elliptic.

(39) The first fixing hole 304 and the third fixing hole 306 have the same inside diameter. The central connection line of the first fixing hole 304, the second fixing hole 305 and the third fixing hole 306 is provided along the axial direction of the intravascular stent 300.

(40) The fixed body with the first fixing hole 304 is directly connected with the proximal ring 302, and located on the side of one peak 311 of the proximal ring 302 departing from the first wave-shaped ring 303. The fixed body with the third fixing hole 306 is directly connected with the first wave-shaped ring 303, and located on the side of one valley 313 of the first wave-shaped ring 303 departing from the proximal ring 302. The second fixing hole 305 is located in the gap between the proximal ring 302 and the first wave-shaped ring 303, and directly connected with the peak 311 of the proximal ring 302 and the valley 313 of the first wave-shaped ring 303, in which the peak 311 is aligned with the valley 313 along the axial direction of the stent.

(41) In this embodiment, on the intravascular stent that is unfolded along the axial direction, the most prominent points on the edge of the radiopaque markers in the fixing hole 304, the fixing hole 305 and the fixing hole 306 are connected sequentially, to form an approximately elliptic envelope 308. The major diameter of the envelope 308 is provided along the axial direction of the intravascular stent 300, and the minor diameter along the circumferential direction of the intravascular stent 300. The major diameter is 1.4097 mm. The minor diameter is 0.3097 mm. The enclosed area of the envelope 308 is 0.4097 mm.sup.2. The effective radiopaque area of the radiopaque structure is 0.2919 mm.sup.2. The ratio of the effective radiopaque area to the enclosed area of the envelope 110 is 1:1.40.

(42) The effective radiopaque area in this embodiment is almost completely distributed in the axial direction of the intravascular stent 300, which reduces the distribution of the radiopaque marker in the circumferential direction of the stent to a greater extent. When the stent deforms upon being crimped, the wave-shaped rings of the stent are compressed circumferentially. As the proportion of the radiopaque structure in the circumferential dimension of the stent in this embodiment is relatively small, the circumferential compression is allowed for the relatively large scale wave-shaped rings. Therefore, the radiopaque structure enables the intravascular stent 300 to have a relatively small crimped diameter. The crimped diameter of the intravascular stent 300 of this embodiment is about 1.01 mm. For an intravascular stent that has substantially the same structure and material, in the case of not being provided with the radiopaque structure of this embodiment, the crimped diameter is 1.00 mm. Based on comparison tests, the crimped diameter of the intravascular stent provided with the radiopaque structure in this embodiment does not significantly change.

(43) FIG. 3 is a DSA image view of the intravascular stent provided for this embodiment. The first stent on the right is the intravascular stent 300, with the radiopaque structures being disposed at the upper and lower ends of the stent. It can be seen from FIG. 3 that the radiopaque structures have a desirable visibility.

(44) In the other embodiments of the present disclosure, the included angle between the major diameter of the envelope and the axial direction of the framework is less than 45 degrees, or the included angle between the major diameter of the envelope and the axial direction of the framework is less than that between the major diameter and the circumferential direction of the framework. The structure of the framework may be another regular wave-shaped ring, for example, comprising several Z-shaped waves having the same shape and size; or may be another irregular wave-shaped ring, for example, having different sizes and shapes in the proximal-to-distal direction. Briefly, the framework has any structure on the premise of having openings.

(45) The above embodiments should not be construed as limitations of the present disclosure, but merely as exemplifications of preferred embodiments thereof.

(46) It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be made to the disclosure as described herein without departing from the concept and scope thereof. Hence, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be based on the claims.