Patent ID: 8454677

Claim:
A deployed stent in the form of a thin-walled, multi-cellular, tubular structure having a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising: a multiplicity of circumferential sets of strut members, each set of strut members being longitudinally separated each from the other and each set of strut members forming a closed, ring-like cylindrical portion of the stent, each set of strut members consisting of a multiplicity of strut elements, each strut element consisting of one curved section having an arcuate contour joined at a junction point to one diagonal section with each junction point being an end point of each curved section; a multiplicity of generally longitudinally disposed sets of flexible links with each set of flexible links connecting two of the multiplicity of circumferential sets of strut members, each set of flexible links consisting of a multiplicity of individual flexible links, each individual flexible link being a single undulating structure that extends generally in the longitudinal direction that is parallel to the stunts longitudinal axis and at least one flexible link being an N-contoured link, each of said flexible links being coupled to a respective strut member curved section on opposing ends of said flexible links; and the sets of strut members and connecting flexible links together forming a multiplicity of closed perimeter cells, each of said closed cells formed by a pair of first and second ones of said N-contoured links, said first and second N-contoured links having a distal end connected to the curved section of a next succeeding strut member and a proximal end connected to the curved section of a next preceding strut member defining a dosed contour of each of said closed cells, at least half of all closed perimeter cells having an inside perimeter length greater than 9 mm.