Importance

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Abstract

An example embodiment of the invention is an expandable stent comprising a tubular base body with a lumen along a longitudinal axis, wherein the base body has a plurality of circumferential support structures which are successively positioned along the longitudinal axis and are each composed of a sequence of diagonal elements and arched elements, and has one or more connectors, wherein two successive circumferential support structures are joined together by at least one connector, and each connector is attached to one diagonal element of the two circumferential support structures to be connected; characterized in that a diagonal element to which a connector is attached has an elongated shape with two opposite ends, i) wherein the diagonal element at its first end has a branching point with a diameter d₁ at which the diagonal element directly branches into an arched element and a connector, ii) wherein the diagonal element at its second end has a connecting point with a diameter d₂ at which the diagonal element directly merges into a further arched element; and iii) wherein the ratio of d₁ to d₂>1, and the diagonal element is continuously tapered from its first end to its second end.

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First Claim