In-vivo imaging of femoral artery nitinol stents for deformation analysis.

Purpose: The authors have developed a direct method to study femoral artery stent deformations in vivo. A previously described imaging and analysis approach based on a calibrated phantom was used to examine stents in human volunteers treated for atherosclerotic disease. In this pilot study, forces on stents were evaluated under different in-vivo flexion conditions.

In-vitro imaging of femoral artery nitinol stents for deformation analysis.

Purpose: Femoral artery stents are prone to fracture, and studying their deformations could lead to a better understanding of the cause of breakage. The present study sought to develop a method of imaging and analyzing stent deformation in vitro with use of a calibrated test device.

Materials And Methods: High-resolution (approximately 200 μm) volumetric data were obtained with a flat-panel detector-based C-arm computed tomography system.