Abstract: The invention is directed to an expandable stent for implanting in a body lumen, such as a coronary artery, peripheral artery, or other body lumen. The invention provides for an intravascular stent having a plurality of cylindrical rings connected by links. The rings are defined by undulations of relatively large and relatively small amplitudes wherein bar arms extend between peaks and valleys and wherein selected bar arms are non-linear. The links connecting the cylindrical rings are non-linear.

Abstract: An expandable stent for implanting in a body lumen, such as a coronary artery, peripheral artery, or other body lumen is provided. An intravascular stent is formed by cylindrical rings connected by links. The rings have peaks and valleys from which extend straight and nonlinear bar arms, forming a figure-eight. An elemental unit is defined with straight and nonlinear bar arms, and elemental units on adjacent rings are mirror images of one another. The links have one end connected at a peak of one ring and the other end connected to a central portion of a nonlinear bar arm. Alternating rows of the links consist of nonlinear links.

Abstract: An expandable hybrid stent having metallic rings and polymer interconnecting links is disclosed. One embodiment of the stent has radially expandable cylindrical rings generally aligned on a common axis and interconnected by one or more polymer links that attach at formations formed in the rings. The polymer links have sufficient column strength to keep the rings from collapsing together axially. The formations may be holes, notches, grooves, channels, dovetails, or the like and the links wrap around, pass through, or lie on the formations. The junction of the link and ring at the formation is then melted and allowed to solidify. Alternatively, beads may be formed on either side of where the link passes through a hole in the ring thus securing the ring to the link.