US Patent 7780721 Stent and method for manufacturing the stent

A stent includes a stent body having a circumference and struts disposed helically about the circumference. Each of the struts has a strut length and a ratio of a number of the struts around the circumference to the strut length is greater than 800 per inch, in particular, over 1000 per inch. A method for manufacturing a helical stent includes the steps of providing a stent body with struts disposed about the circumference thereof in turns and with bridges connecting the struts in adjacent turns. The stent body is expanded and, thereafter, some of the bridges, in particular, sacrificial bridges, are removed.