Patent ID: 8470021

Claim:
An expandable stent radially adjustable between a collapsed state and an expanded state, the stent comprising: a main body having a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis extending from the first end to the second end, the main body comprising a plurality of ring structures, a middle stent portion, and a plurality of connector segments, each of the plurality of ring structures and the middle stent portion including an undulating pattern of a plurality of generally linear middle portions connected with each other by a plurality of generally U-shaped or V-shaped end portions, the middle stent portion positioned between first and second ring structures of the plurality of ring structures; and a plurality of connector segments including at least one pair of crossed diamond connector segments joining the first ring structure and the middle stent portion by connecting two of every three end portions of the first ring structure to two of every three end portions of the middle stent portion while keeping the remaining end portion of the every three end portions of the first ring structure and of the middle stent portion free of any connector segments extending to the middle stent portion, wherein each of the at least one pair of diamond connector segments and the first ring structure and the middle stent portion define two diamond-shaped portions when the stent is in the expanded state.