Stent With Improved Flexibility

摘要

A stent includes a continuous wave form wrapped around a longitudinal axis of the stent at a pitch to define a helix comprising a plurality of turns. The wave form includes a plurality of struts and a plurality of crowns. Each crown connects adjacent struts within a turn to define the continuous wave form. The stent also includes a plurality of connections configured to connect selected crowns of adjacent turns. Unconnected crowns of adjacent turns that substantially face each other are spaced from each other and define a gap therebetween. The gap between the unconnected crowns of adjacent turns is variable around a circumference of the stent.