Patent ID: 8500791

Claim:
A delivery system comprising: a delivery catheter having a proximal end and a distal end; and a stent disposed at the distal end of the delivery catheter, the stent including: a plurality of radially expandable rings disposed adjacent to one another to define a tubular member having a proximal end portion, and a distal end portion, and a middle portion, each of the radially expandable rings including a plurality of strut members; at least one interconnection member disposed between a first expandable ring and a second radially expandable ring and extending between strut members thereof at an end portion of the tubular member to define an open cell bordered by the at least one interconnection member and three or more struts of the first expandable ring and of the second radially expandable ring, respectively; a plurality of interconnection members included in the middle portion of the tubular member and extending between longitudinally adjacent expandable rings, the number of the plurality of the interconnection members in the middle portion of the tubular member being greater than that of the end portion of the tubular member, and wherein a transition section is defined between the end portion and the middle portion, the transition section including at least one open cell defined between at least two longitudinally adjacent expandable rings of the transition section and at least one closed cell defined between the at least two longitudinally adjacent expandable rings, each open cell bordered by circumferentially adjacent interconnection members extending between two longitudinally adjacent expandable rings of the transition section and by three or more struts of each of the two longitudinally adjacent expandable rings, respectively, and each closed cell bordered by circumferentially adjacent interconnection members extending between the two longitudinally adjacent expandable rings and by two struts of each of the two longitudinally adjacent expandable rings.