Patent ID: 8617235

Claim:
A stent being expandable from an unexpanded state to an expanded state, the stent comprising a tubular member having a longitudinal axis, the tubular member comprising: a first linkage section comprising a housing, the housing comprising a chamber and at least one engagement opening in communication with the chamber; and a second linkage section comprising an elongate body and a plurality of arm members, the elongate body being unitary with the arm members, the arm members extending in alternating circumferential directions from the elongate body, each of the arm members being longitudinally offset from all other arm members along the elongate body, at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening of the housing of the first linkage section, wherein a distal end of the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening is housed within the chamber of the housing of the first linkage section when the stent is in the unexpanded and expanded states, the at least one of the arm members configured to engage the at least one engagement opening being configured to allow one-way slidable movement of the first linkage section relative to the elongate body during expansion of the stent from the unexpanded state to the expanded state.