Patent ID: 7331986

Claim:
A stent formed of at least one structural material and having a pattern including a plurality of interconnected circumferential bands including a proximal end band and a distal end band, each of said plurality of said circumferential bands having a distal end and a proximal end, and each of said plurality of circumferential bands formed of a plurality of struts, adjacent struts interconnected by end portions, the end portions having inner turns and outer turns, at least some of the end portions being elongated and other end portions being non-elongated and having a predetermined length, the inner turns of at least one of the non-elongated end portions at the distal end of the proximal end band are substantially unaligned longitudinally with the inner turns of at least one of the non-elongated end portions at the distal end of the proximal end band, the outer turns of at least one of the non-elongated end portions at the distal end of the proximal end band are substantially unaligned longitudinally with the outer turns of at least one of the non-elongated end portions at the distal end of the proximal end band, the inner turns of at least one of the non-elongated end portions of the proximal end of the distal end band are substantially unaligned longitudinally with the inner turns of at least one of the non-elongated end portions at the proximal end of the distal end band, the outer turns of the elongated end portions of the proximal end of the proximal end band are substantially aligned longitudinally with the outer turns of the non-elongated end portions of the proximal end of the proximal end band, and the outer turns of the elongated end portions of the distal end of the distal end band are substantially aligned longitudinally with the outer turns of the non-elongated end portions of the distal end of the distal end band, at least one of said elongated end portions configured to serve as a fiducial marker.