Claims
- 1. A stent having a proximal end and a distal end comprising
a first undulating band comprising a series of alternating first peaks and first troughs, the first peaks oriented in a distal direction, the first troughs oriented in a proximal direction, the first undulating band having a first wavelength and a first amplitude, a second undulating band comprising a series of alternating second peaks and second troughs, the second peaks oriented in a distal direction, the second troughs oriented in a proximal direction, the second undulating band having a second wavelength and a second amplitude, the second amplitude different from the first amplitude, the second wavelength different from the first wavelength, and a plurality of longitudinally oriented first connectors extending between first peaks and second peaks.
- 2. The stent of claim 1 comprising at least three first connectors equally spaced about the periphery of the stent.
- 3. The stent of claim 1 further comprising
a third undulating band comprising a series of alternating third peaks and third troughs, the third peaks oriented in a distal direction, the third troughs oriented in a proximal direction, the third undulating band having a third wavelength and a third amplitude, the third wavelength equal to the first wavelength and the third amplitude equal to the first amplitude, a plurality of longitudinally oriented second connectors extending between second troughs and third troughs.
- 4. The stent of claim 3 wherein the first amplitude is greater than the second amplitude.
- 5. The stent of claim 4 wherein the first wavelength is greater than the second wavelength.
- 6. The stent of claim 3 wherein the wavelength is greater than the second wavelength.
- 7. The stent of claim 3 comprising three first connectors equally spaced about the periphery of the stent and three second connectors equally spaced about the periphery of the stent.
- 8. The stent of claim 7 wherein first and second connectors which are circumferentially adjacent are separated by at least one second peak and one second trough.
- 9. The stent of claim 3 further comprising a fourth undulating band comprising a series of alternating fourth peaks and fourth troughs, the fourth peaks oriented in a distal direction, the fourth troughs oriented in a proximal direction, the fourth undulating band having a fourth wavelength and a fourth amplitude, the fourth wavelength equal to the second wavelength and the fourth amplitude equal to the second amplitude,
a plurality of longitudinally oriented third connectors extending between third peaks and fourth peaks.
- 10. The stent of claim 9 wherein the first, second and third connectors are circumferentially displaced from one another.
- 11. The stent of claim 1 wherein the first wavelength is 1.5 times the second wavelength.
- 12. The stent of claim 1 wherein the first undulating band is characterized by a first width and the second undulating band is characterized by a second width different from the first width.
- 13. The stent of claim 12 wherein the width of claim 12 wherein the width of the first undulating band exceeds the width of the second undulating band.
- 14. The stent of claim 9 wherein the first undulating band is characterized by a first width, the second undulating band is characterized by a second width, the third undulating band is characterized by a third width and the fourth undulating band is characterized by a fourth width, the first and third width equal to one another, the second and fourth widths equal to one another and the first width greater than the second width.
- 15. A stent comprising at least one first expansion cell, the first expansion cell having
a proximal end, a distal end, a first side extending between the proximal and distal ends, and a second side opposite the first side and extending between the proximal and distal ends, the proximal end of the cell consisting of an undulating segment having a first trough opening in a distal direction, a second trough opening in a distal direction, and a first peak opening in a proximal direction, the first peak disposed between the first trough and the second trough, the distal end of the cell consisting of an undulating segment having a first half peak and a second half peak, three troughs opening in a distal direction and two peaks opening in a proximal direction, the peaks and troughs alternating with one another and disposed between the first and second half peaks, the first and second sides being substantially straight, longitudinally extending members.
- 16. The stent of claim 15 comprising a plurality of first expansion cells.
- 17. The stent of claim 16 wherein the first expansion cells are arranged in circumferential bands extending about the periphery of the stent.
- 18. The stent of claim 17 further comprising second expansion cells, the second expansion cells mirror images of the first expansion cells.
- 19. The stent of claim 18 wherein the second expansion cells are arranged in circumferential bands extending about the periphery of the stent.
- 20. The stent of claim 19 wherein the bands of first expansion cells and the bands of second expansion cells alternate along the length of the stent.
- 21. The stent of claim 20 wherein first and second expansion cells which are adjacent one another are staggered about the circumference of the stent.
- 22. The stent of claim 18 comprising a circumferential band of first expansion cells at one end of the stent and a circumferential band of second expansion cells at the other end of the stent.
- 23. A stent having a proximal end and a distal end comprising
a first undulating band comprising a series of alternating first peaks and first troughs, the first peaks oriented in a distal direction, the first troughs oriented in a proximal direction, the first undulating band having a first wavelength and a first amplitude, a second undulating band comprising a series of alternating second peaks and second troughs, the second peaks oriented in a distal direction, the second troughs oriented in a proximal direction, the second undulating band having a second wavelength and a second amplitude, the second wavelength different from the first wavelength, a plurality of longitudinally oriented first connectors extending between first peaks and second peaks.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The instant application claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 09/197,278 filed Nov. 20, 1998, U.S. provisional application No. 60/234,548, filed Sep. 22, 2000, U.S. provisional application No. 60/272,651 filed Mar. 1, 2001 and U.S. provisional application No. 60/272,906 filed Mar. 1, 2001, all of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
Provisional Applications (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60234548 |
Sep 2000 |
US |
|
60272651 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
|
60272906 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09197278 |
Nov 1998 |
US |
Child |
09957983 |
Sep 2001 |
US |