BRAIDED STENT AND METHOD FOR ITS MANUFACTURE
A stent and method for making the stent are provided. The stent comprises regions of differing numbers of braided filaments to provide a stent with different dimensions and/or properties in different regions along the stent length. A preferred stent (10) comprises a first (11) and second plurality (12) of braided filaments each braided together. The second plurality of braided filaments is braided into the first plurality of braided filaments to form a region of different properties than the first. A preferred embodiment is a stent (100) having a narrower diameter along a more flexible region (110) and a broader diameter along a more rigid region (120). Also included is a method of constructing a braided stent in accordance with the above. The method comprises the steps of braiding a first plurality of filaments to form the flexible portion, combining a second plurality of filaments to the first plurality of filaments, and then braiding the second plurality of filaments with the first plurality of filaments to form the more rigid region from the combination of the first and second plurality of filaments, wherein the second plurality of filaments are braided only in the rigid region.