US Patent 9320627 Flexible stent with torque-absorbing connectors

A stent includes an essentially tubular body formed by a web structure that is composed of a plurality of longitudinally adjacent web rings, each including a plurality of web elements that are disposed circumferentially around the longitudinal axis of the stent and that are adjoined one to the other by a junction bend. Each junction bend in a first web ring is coupled to another junction bend in a neighboring ring by a connector having a step-wise configuration, in which a central segment of the connector is disposed essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stent and may become twisted to absorb torque imposed on the stent.