Patent ID: 8658082

Claim:
A method for fabricating a stent comprising: radially deforming a polymer tube for use in fabrication of a stent from the deformed tube, wherein the radial deformation propagates along the tube axis as the tube is heated along the axis, the polymer tube having an internal tube pressure higher than ambient; controlling a temperature of the deforming polymer tube to provide a selected fracture toughness of the stent fabricated from the tube, wherein the temperature is controlled to provide a morphology of the polymer tube that provides the selected fracture-toughness, and wherein the temperature is in orange in which the polymer crystal nucleation rate is larger than the polymer crystal growth rate; and fabricating the stent from the deformed tube including forming struts interconnected with bending elements wherein the polymer tube is made of poly(L-lactide) and the temperature is controlled to be in the range 180° F. to 220° F.