Patent ID: 8052734

Claim:
An expandable medical device which is visible in x-ray and fluoroscope images, the device comprising: a plurality of struts arranged to form an expandable cylindrical tube, the struts each having a strut width in a circumferential direction and a strut thickness in a radial direction; and a plurality of ductile hinges connecting the plurality of struts, the ductile hinges each having a hinge thickness in the radial direction and a hinge width, wherein the strut thickness and the hinge thickness are each at least 0.003 inches (0.0762 mm), the ductile hinges each having a substantially constant width along a portion of a hinge length, said hinge length portion being at least ⅓ of a total hinge length, and wherein the ratio of the hinge thickness to the hinge width at said hinge length portion is at least 2:1; wherein the hinge width is smaller than the strut width such that as the device is expanded from a first diameter to a second diameter the ductile hinges experience plastic deformation while the struts are not plastically deformed.