Patent ID: 8728147

Claim:
An expandable stent having an unexpanded state, the unexpanded state consisting of: a plurality of cylindrical band-like elements having collinear longitudinal axes and attached to one another by a plurality of interconnecting constituents, each cylindrical band-like element consisting of a plurality of expandable circumferential segments connected to and alternating with a plurality of single substantially S-shaped portions, wherein each expandable circumferential segment extends between two consecutive interconnecting constituents and includes a quantity of curved and linear portions greater than a quantity of curved and linear portions of each substantially S-shaped portion; first and second end segments straddling the stent; a plurality of first expandable continuous substantially repeating paths coursing along the stent in a helical manner and consisting of a plurality of the single substantially S-shaped portions alternating with the plurality of the interconnecting constituents; and a plurality of second expandable continuous substantially repeating paths coursing along the stent in a helical manner and consisting of a plurality of the circumferential segments alternating with the plurality of the interconnecting constituents, wherein said single substantially S-shaped portions are contiguous and have a generally single S-shaped appearance, wherein said cylindrical band-like elements are contiguous patterns cylinders around the longitudinal axis, wherein said expandable circumferential segments are contiguous elements coursing in a circumferential manner about the stent.