Intravascular stent

Abstract

An expandable stent for implanting in a body lumen, such as a coronary artery, peripheral artery, or other body lumen. In one aspect, the stent includes a butterfly pattern to which connecting links are attached. In another aspect, the stent embodies a non-directional structure. One embodiment is a stent in which one or both ends are more flexible than the center portion. Also, the stent may have a non-uniform drug coating. Another embodiment relates to a stent having ends that are more radiopaque than the center portion.

1 - 21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . A flexible non-directional intravascular stent for use in a body lumen, comprising:
 a plurality of cylindrical rings aligned along a common longitudinal axis, the stent having a proximal end and a distal end,   each cylindrical ring having a plurality of peaks and a plurality of valleys;   at least one cylindrical ring having an open W-structure facing in a first direction and at least one cylindrical ring having an open W-structure facing in a second direction different from the first direction;   at least one link attaching each cylindrical ring to an adjacent cylindrical ring, the link having a curved portion;   wherein the proximal and distal ends of the stent are mirror images.   
     
     
         23 . The stent of  claim 22 , wherein along a length of the stent the apexes of some of the peaks are oriented towards the proximal end of the stent and the apexes of some of the peaks are oriented towards the distal end. 
     
     
         24 . The stent of  claim 22 , wherein a most distal cylindrical ring includes apexes of at least some of the peaks pointing towards the proximal end of the stent and a most proximal cylindrical ring includes apexes of at least some of the peaks pointing towards the distal end of the stent. 
     
     
         25 . The stent of  claim 22 , wherein a most distal cylindrical ring includes apexes of at least some of the peaks pointing towards the distal end of the stent and a most proximal cylindrical ring includes apexes of at least some of the peaks pointing towards the proximal end of the stent. 
     
     
         26 . The stent of  claim 22 , wherein the most distal ring includes at least some of the valleys oriented towards the proximal end of the stent and the most proximal ring includes at least some of the valleys oriented towards the distal end of the stent. 
     
     
         27 . The stent of  claim 22 , wherein a plurality of struts define the rings and the link, at least a portion of one strut having a variable thickness. 
     
     
         28 . The stent of  claim 22 , wherein a plurality of struts define the rings and the link, at least a portion of one strut having a variable width. 
     
     
         29 . A non-directional stent for use in a body lumen, comprising:
 a plurality of cylindrical rings aligned along a common longitudinal axis and interconnected to form the stent;   at least one link attaching each cylindrical ring to an adjacent cylindrical ring, the link having a curved portion extending substantially transverse to the stent longitudinal axis;   wherein the curved transverse portion of at least one link facing in an opposite circumferential direction from the curved transverse portion of another link;   wherein a proximal end of the stent is a mirror image of a distal end of the stent.   
     
     
         30 . The stent of  claim 29 , wherein the curved portions of the links facing in the opposite circumferential direction are on the same cylindrical ring. 
     
     
         31 . The stent of  claim 29 , wherein the curved portions of the links facing in the opposite circumferential direction are on the adjacent cylindrical rings or different cylindrical rings. 
     
     
         32 . The stent of  claim 29 , wherein a plurality of struts define the rings and the link, at least a portion of one strut having a variable thickness. 
     
     
         33 . The stent of  claim 29 , wherein a plurality of struts define the rings and the link, at least a portion of one strut having a variable width. 
     
     
         34 - 56 . (canceled)