Patent ID: 8523938

Claim:
A stent comprising: a longitudinally extending stent body that includes a plurality of axially arranged annular members in which axially adjacent annular members are connected to one another, each annular member comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending parts each possessing a width-wise extent and a lengthwise-extent, the plurality of longitudinally extending parts being connected to one another by curved parts each possessing a width-wise extent and a lengthwise-extent; the stent body being radially outwardly expandable from a contracted state to an expanded state, the curved parts being deformed during the radial outward expansion of the stent body; a drug coat layer on an outer surface of a plurality of the curved parts of each of the plurality of annular members; the drug coat layer on each of the plurality of curved parts varying in thickness in the width-wise extent of the respective curved part, the drug coat layer on each of the plurality of curved parts possessing a ridgeline extending along a lengthwise extent of the respective curved part, the ridgeline being the portion of the drug coat layer having the greatest thickness; the ridgeline of the drug coat layer on each curved part crossing a longitudinal centerline of the curved part at a plurality of spaced apart locations so that for each curved part, the ridgeline is positioned entirely on one side of the longitudinal centerline over one longitudinal portion of the curved part and is positioned entirely on the opposite side of the longitudinal centerline over a different longitudinal portion of the curved part; and the drug coat layer possessing a longitudinal centerline, wherein at least a portion of the ridgeline of the drug coat layer crosses the longitudinal centerline of the drug coat layer at a plurality of spaced apart locations.