This is a prospective, multi-center, non-randomized trial to study one-year outcomes of the Wingspan system for the treatment of Chinese patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic severe intracranial stenosis.

The study will enroll 200 Chinese patients with atherosclerotic intracranial stenosis of 70% to 99% that causes a recent ischemic neurologic event.

The Winspan stenting following undersized Gateway balloon angioplasty will be performed at experienced centers (at least 10 cases' experiences of using the Wingspan system to treat the patients with intracranial stenosis for each center).

The primary endpoint of the study, independently evaluated by neurologists, is any stroke or death within 30 days, plus ischemic stroke in the stented artery territory between 31 day and 1 year.

Inclusion Criteria:

• An angiographically verified ≥ 70% stenosis of a major intracranial artery that causes TIA or minor stroke (NIH Stroke Scale score <9) within 90 days;
• the lesion length <15 mm and normal arterial diameter adjacent to it between 2.0 mm and 4.5 mm;
• patients having at least one atherosclerotic risk factor (arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hyperhomocysteinemia and cigarette smoking).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-atherosclerotic stenosis;
• intracranial hemorrhage in the territory of the stenotic artery within 6 weeks; potential source of cardiac embolism;
• concurrent intracranial tumor, aneurysm and cerebral arteriovenous malformation;
• tandem >50% stenosis of extracranial carotid or vertebral artery; known contraindication to heparin, aspirin, clopidogrel, anesthesia and contrast media; hemoglobin <10 g/dl, platelet count <100,000;
• international normalized ratio >1.5 (irreversible) and uncorrectable bleeding diathesis; and life expectancy <1 years because of other medical conditions.

Chinese population with symptomatic severe stenosis of intracranial atherosclerosis