Finite element simulation of stent implantation and its applications in the interventional planning for hemorrhagic cardio-cerebrovascular diseases / 生物医学工程学杂志

Numerical simulation of stent deployment is very important to the surgical planning and risk assess of the interventional treatment for the cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Our group developed a framework to deploy the braided stent and the stent graft virtually by finite element simulation. By using the framework, the whole process of the deployment of the flow diverter to treat a cerebral aneurysm was simulated, and the deformation of the parent artery and the distributions of the stress in the parent artery wall were investigated. The results provided some information to improve the intervention of cerebral aneurysm and optimize the design of the flow diverter. Furthermore, the whole process of the deployment of the stent graft to treat an aortic dissection was simulated, and the distributions of the stress in the aortic wall were investigated when the different oversize ratio of the stent graft was selected. The simulation results proved that the maximum stress located at the position where the bare metal ring touched the artery wall. The results also can be applied to improve the intervention of the aortic dissection and the design of the stent graft.

Influence of End Shapes on Biomechanical Behavior of the Stent-Esophagus Coupling System / 医用生物力学

Objective To investigate the influence of different end shapes of esophageal stents on the mechanical behavior of the stent-esophagus system. Methods Through finite element simulation, the mechanical behavior of the coupling system between braided esophageal stents with different end shapes (straight-tube-shaped, cup-spherical-shaped, double-trumpet-shaped) and the esophageal cavity was analyzed. The influences of bare stents and covered stents with three different end shapes on stress distributions in the inner wall of the esophagus and on dilatation of the esophageal stenosis zone were compared. Results The reduction in stenosis rate caused by the bare stent was larger than that of the covered stent. Moreover, the equivalent stress and the contact stress caused by the bare stent were much larger than those of the covered stent. Different end shapes had a significant influence on the stress occurring in the healthy esophageal zone. Stress concentration occurred in the zones where the esophagus contacted the central part of the cup-shaped end and the edge of the double-trumpet-shaped end. The braided esophageal stents with three different end shapes all had good apposition.Conclusions Different end shapes of stents cause different stress states in the esophagus. A larger stress involves a higher probability of occurrence of esophageal tissue hyperplasia, but a smaller possibility of stent migration. Therefore, understanding the effect of the end shapes on stent performance can provide important theoretical references for optimization design of the braided stent and its clinical selection.