| abstract |
A balloon expandable intravascular stent assembly for implantation in a body vessel, such as a coronary artery, is designed to provide stent coverage beyond the balloon working length and minimize damage to the vessel wall during balloon inflation. The stent consists of radially expandable cylindrical rings generally aligned on a common longitudinal stent axis and either directly connected or interconnected by one or more interconnecting links. The stent includes a distal section, proximal section, and center section. The rings within the distal section and proximal section may be configured with a nickel-titanium alloy and may include tabs which extend away from the center section. |