Patent ID: 7331988

Claim:
A stent for a vessel used by being inserted into a vessel of a living body, comprising: a main body portion of the stent comprising a yarn bent in a zigzag design and wound into a tube without forming overlapping portions with any yarn, said yarn being formed of a biodegradable polymer and exhibiting a shape memory function, wherein said main body portion of the stent is enlarged or contracted in diameter with zigzag bends of said yarn as displacing portions, wherein said main body portion of the stent comprises a contracted size for deployment of the stent in the vessel and a shape-memorized size for supporting the vessel, the zigzag bends of said yarn comprising contracted opening angles and shape-memorized opening angles, wherein the enlargement of said main body portion of the stent from said contracted size to said shape-memorized size is temperature dependent and is caused by the zigzag bends of said yarn expanding to the shape-memorized opening angles by an increase in temperature.