Patent ID: 7758627

Claim:
A stent comprising: a plurality of first loop containing sections arranged generally in a circumferential direction and spaced apart from one another, loops in said first loop containing sections occurring at a first frequency; a plurality of second loop containing sections, loops in said second loop containing sections occurring at a second frequency that is higher than said first frequency, said second loop containing sections consecutively alternating with said first loop containing sections along a longitudinal axis of the stent, each of said second loop containing sections being alternately joined to longitudinally neighboring first loop containing sections around the circumference of the stent, said first loop containing sections and said second loop containing sections form a plurality of cells, wherein each cell consists essentially of one loop of the first loop containing section and three loops of the second loop containing section, said loops opening toward the inside of the cell, and said first loop containing sections provide radial support upon expansion of the stent and said second loop containing sections provide longitudinal flexibility of the stent.