Stent Deployment Computer Based Simulations for Health Care Treatment of Diseased Arteries

Abstract

Endovascular stent deployment is one of the most commonly used techniques for the treatment of diseased arterial segments. Though these devices have eliminated the problem with recoil seen with balloon angioplasty alone there are idiosyncratic reactions that remain and mandate further definition and examination so as these can be eliminated. Chief amongst these problems are loss of lumen patency to clot, stent thrombosis (acute, subacute, late and very late), or to tissue overgrowth, instent restenosis (ISR). While these effects are to some extent class-related, each individual design and implantation procedures impacts outcome. The magnitude and diversity of the parameters that determine safety and efficacy defies empiric validation and limits how much experimentation can add to optimization. Differences in design, materials, arterial geometries, implantation procedures and local, regional and systemic forces and flows cannot be evaluated across the domains of interest and in reasonable time but they can be considered in computational models. High speed computer resources can solve complex coupled equations that cover an almost infinite range of perturbations and combinations of conditions and have become an invaluable tool in the armamentarium of