Patent ID: 8597343

Claim:
A stent comprising: a wave form comprising a plurality of substantially straight struts and a plurality of crowns, each crown connecting two adjacent struts within the wave form, the wave form being wrapped around a longitudinal axis to define a hollow cylinder having a plurality of turns, wherein each turn is defined by one complete revolution around the cylinder, the cylinder having a central portion terminating in first and second opposing end portions; wherein the central portion comprises a plurality of turns, each turn of the central portion having a substantially constant first pitch angle of greater than 0° and less than 90° relative to the longitudinal axis; wherein the first end portion comprises first and second turns, the first turn defining a stent end perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and having a second pitch angle of about 90° relative to the longitudinal axis, the second turn being disposed between the first turn and the central portion and having a third pitch angle relative to the longitudinal axis and sized between the first pitch angle and the second pitch angle; wherein one or more struts located in the first and second turns have a length that is longer than the average length of all the struts of the stent and are each connected to an adjacent turn via a selected crown; and a plurality of connections between selected crowns from adjacent turns, wherein the connections are positioned along the stent substantially equally so that a density of the number of connections of the end portions is substantially equal to a density of the number of connections of the central portion, wherein the first pitch angle, the second pitch angle, and the third pitch angle are each defined by a line extending through adjacent struts in the respective turns substantially at a mid-point of each strut between adjacent bends.