Abstract: A stent comprising a coil including a plurality of arcuate sections that alternate directions around a central axis, each arcuate section including a pair of curved turns joined by a cusp, and the cusps of adjacent arcuate sections intermeshing and defining at least one region of overlap, which in turn describes a helix around and along the length of the coil. In the preferred embodiment, there are two regions of overlap, which together describe a double helix. In another preferred embodiment, the stent is bifurcated so as to support a branched vessel or the like.A method for forming a stent, including the steps of providing a flat sheet of material, chemically etching said sheet to form a blank, and forming said blank into a cylindrical coil. The coiling step is preferably carried out on a plurality of rollers.

Abstract: An endoprosthesis or stent comprising a continuous loop of material is disclosed, along with a method and systems for deploying the stent at a desired location within a collapsed vessel. The stent can comprise a double spiral configuration or a double helix configuration, and can be coated with a slippery biocompatable substance. The systems for deploying a stent include catheters capable of maintaining a stent in a reduced diameter state and releasing the stent so that it can resume it expanded diameter state at the implantation site.