Patent ID: 7731746

Claim:
A stent comprising a plurality of band-like elements having interconnected peaks and troughs, each band-like element comprising a plurality of interconnected struts, each strut at an oblique angle to the longitudinal axis of the stent, the peaks and troughs including pairs of peaks and troughs which face one another, peaks and troughs which face one another located on adjacent band-like elements, adjacent band-like elements connected by links, each link extending from a band-like element from a region of attachment offset from a peak and a trough to another region of attachment offset from a peak and a trough on another band-like element, the region of attachment on the band-like element being circumferentially offset from the region of attachment on the other band-like element, each link having a first section, an intermediate section, and a second section, the first section and the second section extending parallel to one another, the intermediate section extending at an angle to the first and second sections, the intermediate section extending between the first and second sections, wherein the links are interconnected to form a plurality of helical pathways along the length of the stent, the first and second sections of each link extending from struts which are aligned with one another in a helical direction.