Patent ID: 8298280

Claim:
A bifurcation stent, comprising: a tubular member having an inner diameter and an outer diameter defining a wall therebetween, the wall having a geometrical configuration defining a pattern; and an expandable branch structure formed in the wall of the tubular structure and interrupting the wall pattern, the expandable branch structure being connected to the tubular member at a plurality of locations, the expandable branch structure having a first ring connected to the tubular member, a second ring connected to the first ring and a third ring connected to the second ring, wherein the expandable branch structure includes a distal portion and a proximal portion, and at least one partial distal ring is connected to the first ring at the distal portion and at least one partial proximal ring is connected to the first ring at the proximal portion, and wherein the rings and the partial rings at the proximal and distal portions form a lattice portion, wherein the third ring substantially surrounds and defines a central branch opening, and wherein the expandable branch structure is movable from an unexpanded configuration to an expanded configuration, in the unexpanded configuration the expandable branch structure is disposed along the wall and in the expanded configuration the expandable branch structure extends outwardly from the tubular member.