Expandable stents and method for making same
AssigneeAdvanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
InventorsLilip Lau, William M. Hartigan, John J. Frantzen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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 interconnective elements. The individual radially expandable cylindrical elements consist of ribbon-like material disposed in an undulating pattern. Portions of the expanded stent project outwardly into engagement with the vessel wall to more securely attach the stent.
Claims8
A method of chemically etching a serpentine pattern on a metallic member to form an intravascular stent, comprising:
- applying a coating resistive to chemical etching to a metallic surface of the metallic member;
- selectively removing portions of the resistive coating form the metallic surface thereby providing exposed portions of the metallic surface and protected portions of the metallic surface, the protected portions of the metallic surface forming the serpentine pattern;
- exposing the metallic surface to a chemical etchant solution thereby removing all of the exposed portions of the metallic surface;
- and
- means for removing the resistive coating and polishing the metal surface to provide a uniform surface finish thereby forming the serpentine pattern of the stent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.