Expandable medical device for delivery of beneficial agent

Abstract

An expandable medical device having a plurality of elongated struts, the plurality of elongated struts being joined together to form a substantially cylindrical device which is expandable from a cylinder having a first diameter to a cylinder having a second diameter, and the plurality of struts each having a strut width in a circumferential direction. At least one of the plurality of struts includes at least one opening extending at least partially through a thickness of said strut. A beneficial agent may be loaded into the opening within the strut. The expandable medical device may further include a plurality of ductile hinges formed between the elongated struts, the ductile hinges allowing the cylindrical device to be expanded or compressed from the first diameter to the second diameter by deformation of the ductile hinges.

1 - 25 . (canceled)  
     
     
         26 . An expandable medical device comprising: 
 a substantially cylindrical device which is expandable from a cylinder having a first diameter to a cylinder having a second diameter, the cylindrical device comprising a plurality of deformable elements interconnected by substantially non-deforming elements, the deformable elements each having a plane of deformation within which the element deforms; and    a plurality of openings formed in the cylindrical device, the openings each having an opening axis which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of deformation of an adjacent deformable element.    
     
     
         27 . The device of  claim 26 , wherein the plane of deformation for each of the deformable elements is a plane tangent to the surface of the cylindrical device.  
     
     
         28 . The device of  claim 26 , wherein the openings are formed in the substantially non-deforming elements of the cylindrical device, and wherein the non-deforming elements are connected by the deformable elements to form the cylindrical device.  
     
     
         29 . The device of  claim 26 , wherein the openings contain a beneficial agent.  
     
     
         30 . The device of  claim 29 , wherein the beneficial agent comprises a drug and a polymer.  
     
     
         31 . The device of  claim 26 , wherein the expandable medical device is a stent.  
     
     
         32 . The device of  claim 31 , wherein the stent is a coronary stent.  
     
     
         33 . The device of  claim 26 , wherein no openings are formed in the plurality of deformable elements.