Patent ID: 8257424

Claim:
A radially expandable vessel support having a plurality of annular elements flexibly connected to each other, defining a vascular support with a proximal and a distal end and a longitudinal axis, said annular elements being arranged side by side transversely to said longitudinal axis of the vascular support, wherein at least two marginally standing annular elements positioned at each of the proximal and distal ends of the vascular support are linked to each other by a pair of straight bending elements, a plurality of centrally standing annular elements positioned between the marginally standing annular elements at the proximal and distal ends, each of the centrally standing annular elements being linked to each adjacent centrally standing annular element by two S-shaped bending elements only, one of the marginally standing annular elements at each of the proximal and distal ends of the radially expandable vessel support is linked to an adjacent centrally standing annular element adjacent by two S-shaped bending elements only, and each of the centrally standing annular elements is of a zigzag-shaped configuration, and wherein bending elements between two annular elements form a pair of bending elements lying opposite to each other relative to a circumference of the vascular support.