Patent ID: 8808354

Claim:
A stent for insertion in a fluid conduit of a human or animal body, comprising a hollow structure, the hollow structure having an interior, wherein the interior is free of grooves, ridges, ribs or vanes, the hollow structure having a center line, a longitudinal direction and a length, and having circumferentially extending parts which have opposite end portions in the longitudinal direction, the circumferentially extending parts being joined to longitudinally adjacent circumferentially extending parts along the length of the hollow structure, wherein a set of struts connects adjacent circumferentially extending parts to each other, wherein the set of struts includes first and second struts both connecting the same adjacent circumferentially extending parts, the first strut having a portion being oriented in a first lateral direction as well as longitudinally and the second strut having a portion being oriented in a second lateral direction opposite to the first lateral direction as well as longitudinally, wherein in use the adjacent end portions of adjacent circumferentially extending parts are not in parallel planes, and wherein in use, the center line of the hollow structure follows a helical path which undergoes more than one turn, whereby a flow lumen defined by the hollow structure and imposed on the fluid conduit by the hollow structure when in the fluid conduit, extends helically in the longitudinal direction and wherein each circumferentially extending part has a centroid and the centroids of the circumferentially extending parts follow a helical path.