Stent with improved radiopacity and appearance characteristics

Abstract

A stent (10) is plated with a high density, radiopaque metal (or alloy) such as gold or tantalum. Specifically, the stent (10) is plated to a sufficient thickness (15) on its longitudinal wires (12) to make it clearly radiopaque in fluoroscopy, but the generally circumferential wires (11) are plated to a much lesser thickness (14) so that they are not distinctly radiopaque. Before the stent (10) is deployed radially outward in a vessel of the human body, the longitudinal wires (12) are very close together so the implanting physician can easily discern the proximal and distal extremities of the stent (10). Furthermore, the physician can readily discern that the stent (10) has been deployed because the longitudinals (12) will separate to an increased distance from each other after proper deployment. Still further, if the stent does not properly deploy, fluoroscopy will indicate that there is an indentation (12A) or (12C) in one or more longitudinal hence informing the physician that he should inflate a high pressure balloon at the end of a balloon angioplasty catheter to further deploy the stent (10) radially outward against the inner wall of the vessel. Proper stent deployment is characterized by a generally parallel relationship between opposite longitudinal wires (12). Because the stent (10) has a single metal outer coating (albeit of varying thickness) on all stent outer surfaces, electrolytic corrosion of the stent (10) is avoided. Furthermore, there may be other advantages associated with plating a stent (10) with a greater thickness on some wires and a lesser thickness on others. Still further, a stent (10) that is gold plated over all its surfaces would provide a most attractive appearance.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.