Patent ID: 8398702

Claim:
An endoprosthesis comprising a member that includes molybdenum and at least one metal selected from the group consisting of titanium, rhenium, yttrium, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, tungsten, tantalum, iridium, zirconium, hafnium, niobium, chromium, and combinations thereof, the member having a microstructure characterized by: (a) a molybdenum-rich base region comprising at least 50 weight percent molybdenum, (b) a surface region comprising molybdenum and at least one metal selected from the group consisting of titanium, rhenium, yttrium, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, tungsten, tantalum, iridium, zirconium, hafnium, niobium, chromium, and combinations thereof, and (c) an inter-diffusion region in which the concentration of molybdenum decreases in the thickness direction from the molybdenum-rich base region to the surface region of the member, wherein the inter-diffusion region comprises a higher concentration of iridium than either the molybdenum-rich base region or the surface region.