| abstract |
A flexible stent is disclosed which reduced openings between rings by two alternative techniques. In the first instance, adjacent sinusoidally bending rings are nested to compact them closer together to reduce the opening sizes therebetween. In another embodiment, adjacent sinusoidal rings overlap each other to achieve the same effect. The nested design can be fabricated from a long continuous sinusoidal band having alternating high and low peaks wrapped spirally around the mandrel and welded at crossties. The assembly can be covered with a graft as a support therefor. |