Patent ID: 7988717

Claim:
A stent in the form of a thin-walled, cylindrical tube with a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising: a multiplicity of interior circumferential sets of strut members and one end circumferential set of strut members at each of the two longitudinal ends of the stent, each interior circumferential set of strut members and each end circumferential set of strut members having a first end and a second end; each interior circumferential set of strut members including a plurality of strut members connected by curved sections, the plurality of strut members including long strut members and short strut members, at least two of the long strut members being attached to one another by one of the curved sections, the curved sections located at the first and second ends, the curved sections including connected curved sections and unconnected curved sections, each two adjacent strut members connected by a single curved section, the strut members including at least one connected strut member consisting of a long diagonal section having a longitudinal length fixedly attached to a connected curved section, each connected curved section being joined by a longitudinal connecting link to one connected curved section of an adjacent circumferential set of strut members, each connecting link that connects adjacent circumferential sets of strut members is connected at a connected curved section, the strut members also including at least one unconnected strut member consisting of a short diagonal section having a longitudinal length fixedly joined to an unconnected curved section.