# US 11,304,833 B2 · Intravascular stent having high fatigue performance

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- Number: US 11,304,833 B2
- Document ID: US11304833B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/802,495
- Filed: 2020-02-26
- Published: 2020-06-18
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2018-04-11
- Assignees: Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc.
- Applicants: Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc.
- Inventors: Diem Uyen Ta; Senthil Kumar Eswaran
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11304833B2

## CPC

- A61F 2/89: the wire-like elements comprising two or more adjacent rings flexibly connected by separate members
- A61F 2/915: with bands having a meander structure, adjacent bands being connected to each other
- A61F 2/958: Inflatable balloons for placing stents or stent-grafts
- A61F 2002/828: {Means for connecting a plurality of stents allowing flexibility of the whole structure}
- A61F 2002/91575: {connected peak to trough}
- A61F 2210/0004: bioabsorbable
- A61F 2230/0013: Horseshoe-shaped, e.g. crescent-shaped, C-shaped, U-shaped
- A61F 2230/0056: W-shaped, e.g. M-shaped, sigma-shaped
- A61F 2230/006: Y-shaped
- A61F 2230/0069: cylindrical
- A61F: FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS (dental prosthetics A61C)

## Abstract

The 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 comprised of a link and a U-shaped member has relief dimples formed in the curved portion of a valley to reduce localized stress and thereby reduce fatigue failure that can lead to link structure failure.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A longitudinally flexible stent for implanting in a body lumen, comprising:
a first cylindrical ring, a second cylindrical ring, a third cylindrical ring, up to an Nth cylindrical ring, the cylindrical rings being generally independently expandable in the radial direction and generally aligned on a common longitudinal axis;
each of the cylindrical rings having an undulating pattern of peaks and valleys, the undulating pattern of each of the cylindrical rings being in phase with the undulating pattern of each of the adjacent cylindrical rings;
each of the cylindrical rings being interconnected by links to one of the adjacent cylindrical rings so that the cylindrical rings form a longitudinally flexible stent;
a Y-shaped member is formed by one of the links connecting to a first curved portion of a valley, the first curved portion of the valley having a width that is less than a width of a second curved portion of the peaks; and
wherein a first shaded area is formed where the first curved portion transitions from a straight segment of a link to an arc of the curve of the third curved portion of the valley of the Y-shaped member and wherein the first shaded area is 0.00003 square inch.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The stent of claim 1, wherein the width of the first curved portion of the valley is in the range from 0.0073 to 0.0066 inch.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The stent of claim 1, wherein each of the cylindrical rings includes at least three peaks and three valleys.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The stent of claim 1, wherein the peaks and valleys have a U-shaped configuration.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The stent of claim 1, wherein the stent is formed from a polymer material.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The stent of claim 1, wherein the stent is formed from a biodegradable material.