Patent ID: 8512392

Claim:
A stent having a proximal end, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis extending through the proximal and distal ends, the stent further comprising: a plurality of interconnected serpentine bands, each serpentine band axially spaced from an immediately adjacent serpentine band, wherein each serpentine band comprises a plurality of struts, each strut of the serpentine band connected to a circumferentially adjacent strut in the serpentine band to form a juncture, wherein each juncture forms a peak and a valley, wherein the junctures include junctures which form peak connector nodes and junctures which form valley connector nodes, wherein each serpentine band is axially connected to the immediately adjacent serpentine band by at least one interconnecting member, each interconnecting member directly connects one peak connector node of one serpentine band to one valley connector node of the immediately adjacent serpentine band, wherein the valley connector node has a length in the axial direction between the peak and the valley, and the peak connector node has a length in the axial direction between the peak and the valley, wherein the length of the valley connector node is greater than the length of the peak connector node.