A Computational Approach for the Prediction of Fatigue Behaviour in Peripheral Stents: Application to a Clinical Case.

Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) peripheral stents are commonly used for the treatment of diseased femoropopliteal arteries (FPA). However, cyclic deformations of the vessel, induced by limb movements affect device performance and fatigue failure may occur. Stent strut fracture has been described in the literature, and is implicated as a potential causative factor in vessel re-occlusion.

Fluid-Structure Interaction Model of a Percutaneous Aortic Valve: Comparison with an In Vitro Test and Feasibility Study in a Patient-Specific Case.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) represents an established recent technology in a high risk patient base. To better understand TAVR performance, a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model of a self-expandable transcatheter aortic valve was proposed. After an in vitro durability experiment was done to test the valve, the FSI model was built to reproduce the experimental test.

Computational Modeling to Predict Fatigue Behavior of NiTi Stents: What Do We Need?

NiTi (nickel-titanium) stents are nowadays commonly used for the percutaneous treatment of peripheral arterial disease. However, their effectiveness is still debated in the clinical field. In fact a peculiar cyclic biomechanical environment is created before and after stent implantation, with the risk of device fatigue failure.

Fatigue behaviour of Nitinol peripheral stents: the role of plaque shape studied with computational structural analyses.

Fatigue resistance of Nitinol stents implanted into femoro-popliteal arteries is a critical issue for the particular biomechanical environment of this district. Hip and knee joint movements due to the cyclic daily activity expose the superficial femoral artery (SFA), and therefore the implanted stents, to quite large and cyclic deformations influencing stent fatigue resistance. Objective of this work is to provide a tool based on finite element analysis able to evaluate the biomechanical effect of SFA on stent fatigue resistance.