Table 1.

The characteristics of the stent materials reviewed

	Merits	Drawbacks	Application proofs
Bare-metal stents
Stainless steel	high strength and radio force, good biocompatibility	low MR compatibility, low corrosion resistance, bad vessel wall-stent apposition	clinical data
Cobalt alloy	high strength and radio-opacity, good corrosion resistance, biocompatibility	restenosis	clinical data
Nitinol	superelasticity and shape memory property, biocompatibility	weak radial-resistive force, low radio-opacity, fracture	clinical data
Radioactive stents	prevent restenosis	candy wrapper effect, late thrombosis	animal experiment data
Drug-eluting stents	reduce restenosis rate	late thrombosis, stay permanently in the body	clinical data
Biodegradable stents
Polymer(s)	disappear after several months	lower strength, local inflammation, restenosis	animal experiment data
Magnesium alloy	disappear after several months	degrade too fast	no data on carotid artery
Iron alloy	disappear after several months	degrade too slowly	no data on carotid artery