Longitudinally flexible stent

Abstract

An intravascular stent especially suited for implanting in curved arterial portion. The stent retains longitudinal flexibility after expansion. The stent is formed of intertwined meander patterns forming triangular cells. The cells are adapted to provide radial support, and also provide longitudinal flexibility after expansion. The cells also provide increase coverage of a vessel wall. Loops in the stent are disposed and adapted to cooperate, so that after expansion of said stent within a curved lumen, the stent is curved and cells on the outside of the curve open in length, but narrow in width, whereas cells on the inside of the curve shorten in length, but thicken in width to maintain a density of the stent element area which is much more constant than otherwise between the inside and outside of the curve. The stent also minimizes flaring out by eliminating free loops of the radially supporting circumferential bands of loops.

1 . A stent comprising:
 a plurality of first loop containing sections arranged generally in a circumferential direction and spaced apart from one another, loops in said first loop containing sections occurring at a first frequency;   a plurality of second loop containing sections, loops in said second loop containing sections occurring at a second frequency that is higher than said first frequency, said second loop containing sections consecutively alternating with said first loop containing sections along a longitudinal axis of the stent, said sections being alternately joined to longitudinally neighboring sections at every third loop of each of said second loop containing sections around the circumference of the stent, and wherein said first loop containing sections provide radial support upon expansion of the stent and said second loop containing sections provide longitudinal flexibility of the stent.   
   
   
       2 - 86 . (canceled)