Patent ID: 7044963

Claim:
An expandable stent, comprising: a) a plurality of interconnected flexible cells defining a stent having a proximal end, a central section and a distal end and a longitudinal axis, the cells arranged in a plurality of interconnected flexible rows disposed along the longitudinal axis of the stent with at least one distal row disposed at the distal end of the stent and at least one proximal row disposed at the proximal end of the stent, each of the flexible cells including a first member, a second member, a third member and, a fourth member; b) a first C-shaped loop disposed between the first member and the third member; c) a second C-shaped loop disposed between the second member and the fourth member; d) adjacent rows of cells connected to each other; and e) wherein the cells of the at least one row at an end of the stent are provided with first and third members that are shorter than the first and third members in the central section, and wherein the at least one row at an end of the stent is coupled to an adjacent row with flexible connectors that result in a more flexible connection than connections between cells in the rows of the stent in the central area.