Patent ID: 7780721

Claim:
A stent, comprising: struts joined together to form a series of helical turns and defining a circumference of the stent, a number of said struts in each of said turns being between 36 and 50, each of said struts having a strut length, the struts having first and second curved strut portions connecting adjacent straight strut portions, the second curved strut portions extending farther from the straight strut portions than the first curved strut portions; and connecting bridges disposed between each of the series of helical turns, each connecting bridge having one bridge strut with first and second ends, the first bridge strut end connected directly to a second curved strut portion of one of the series of helical turns and the second bridge strut end connected directly to a second curved strut portion of an adjacent one of the series of helical turns, the connecting bridges having edges perpendicular to an axis of the stent, a ratio of a number of said struts around said circumference to said strut length being greater than 800 per inch.