A MEDICAL DEVICE SUITABLE FOR LOCATION IN BODY LUMEN

摘要

A stent suitable for deployment in a blood vessel to support at least part of an internal wall of the blood vessel includes plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart annular elements, and a plurality of connecting elements to connect adjacent annular elements. Each connecting element is circumferentially offset from the previous connecting element. Upon application of a load to the stent, the stent moves from an unloaded configuration to a loaded configuration. In the loaded configuration the longitudinal axis of the stent is curved in three-dimensional space. The stent can be helically shaped.