Simulation and experimental observation of contact conditions between stents and artery models

Treatment of coronary artery stenosis with percutaneous coronary angioplasty and stenting is sometimes complicated by neointimal hyperplasia, possibly due to interaction of the stent with the arterial wall within a specific contact area. Therefore, we characterized the stress distribution at the contacts between the stent and the artery using mathematical and experimental modeling (an arterial cylinder model with a tube-like structure and an arterial stenosis model, consisting of a tube and plaque portion) and two kinds of link stents with different numbers of cells and links. First, the contact condition was investigated using a finite element method (FEM). Second, experimental visualization of the contact area between the stent and the artery models was performed. Comparison of the experimental results with the FEM analysis revealed that the contact area between the stent (with a high number of cells and links) and the artery model was distributed over the total surface of the stent. Further, values obtained from the experimental distribution and the calculated distribution were similar. These data indicate that experimental modeling and FEM analysis are useful methods for analyzing the relationship between stent structure and stent/wall stress distributions and may help guide the design of new stents.