Patent ID: 9694116
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F,A61L,B29C,B29D,B29L,Y10T

Claim:
1. A method of crimping a stent on a balloon, comprising: (a) providing a biodegradable polymeric stent, wherein structural elements of the stent are made from a polymer; wherein the polymeric stent includes markers to provide capability of obtaining images of the markers with an imaging device during and after implantation of the stent in a vessel, wherein the stent has first and second markers being attached in an adjacent configuration about a proximal region of the stent, and third and fourth markers being attached in an adjacent configuration about a distal region of the stent, such that the stent has no other markers but for the four markers to allow for imaging of the markers and such that an entire length of the stent between the first pair and second pair of markers is devoid of any markers, wherein the first marker is positioned at a circumferential distance from its adjacent second marker, wherein the third marker is positioned at a circumferential distance from its adjacent fourth marker, and wherein the pair of markers about the proximal region of the polymeric stent are circumferentially off-set from the pair of markers about the distal region of the polymeric stent; and (b) crimping the stent on a balloon of a catheter assembly by application of a crimping pressure to the stent positioned over the balloon, wherein the four markers are deposited in cylindrical depots, wherein the four markers are a mixture or alloy of two types of metals, and wherein the four markers deposited in the cylindrical depots include a gluing material.