Patent ID: 7647931

Claim:
An apparatus for maintaining patency of a vessel or other region of a human or animal body, the apparatus comprising: an appliance comprising a continuous loop including a body portion and rounded end portions spaced apart by the body portion, the body portion comprising two spaced apart elongated elements extending between the end portions such that the loop defines an open interior space between the space apart elongated elements, the appliance being structured to take on a deployed configuration when located within the vessel or other body region, such that the end portions are spaced apart from each other by other than the body portion, the end portions overlap each other, or the end portions directly contact each other, and the appliance being further structured to exert a force on the vessel or other body region, when the appliance is in the deployed configuration within the vessel or other body region, in order to maintain the region substantially open or unobstructed, or to cause the region to be maintained substantially open or unobstructed.