Patient-specific modelling of stent overlap: Lumen gain, tissue damage and in-stent restenosis

This paper investigates the effects of multiple stents, with and without overlap, on the outcome of stent deployment in a patient-specific coronary artery using the finite element method. Specifically, the objective of this study is to reveal the effect of stent overlap on lumen gain, tissue damage and in-stent restenosis in percutaneous coronary intervention. Based on intravital optical coherency tomography imaging, three-dimensional model of a specific patient's coronary artery was developed, with two constituent layers (media and adventitia) and plaque, using Mimics. Hyperelastic models with damage, verified against experimental results, were used to describe stress-stretch responses of arterial layers and plaque. Abaqus CAE was used to create the models for Resolute Integrity™ drug-eluting stents and tri-folded expansion balloons. The results showed that lumen gain was improved by the overlapping stents than a single stent after deployment; however, damage to the media layer was greater, promoting a higher rate of in-stent restenosis. Meanwhile, the lumen gain achieved with the non-overlapping stents was smaller than that with the overlapping ones, due to an increased recoiling effect. Also, non-overlapping stents induced more tissue damage and higher rate of in-stent restenosis than overlapping stents. With respect to long-term clinical outcomes, the study recommended the use of a single stent where possible or multiple stents with minimal overlaps to treat long or angulated lesions.