In silico Deployment Modeling of an Everolimus Coated Balloon

Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory condition, is linked to heart attacks and strokes. It leads to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques within arterial vessels, consequently diminishing blood flow to various organs. Drug-Eluting Balloons represent a non-stent approach, facilitating the uniform and regulated release of anti-proliferative drugs into the vessel wall via an inflated balloon. In silico modeling serves as an effective approach to precisely predict and evaluate the efficacy of the balloon deployment process. Our in silico study investigates the performance of a novel Everolimus Eluting Balloon in patient-specific swine coronary artery models and assesses the performance of the balloon at the Angioplasty procedure, considering that the same procedural approach is followed by the interventional cardiologist. The results studied refer to overall exhibited stresses and strains in the balloon and the arterial tissue and demonstrate that the balloon closely follows the compliance charts of the producer with respect to overinflation, while effectively tackling stenosis without inducing critical amounts of stresses and strains on the arterial wall. The approach described in this article is a step farther toward precision investigation of Drug Coated Balloon (DCB) mechanical performance. Validating and correlating our study's outcomes with patient specific case studies can contribute to inform the Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) procedure from the clinical perspective.Clinical Relevance - The approach described in this article contributes towards precision investigation of DCB mechanical performance and respective arterial response. Validating the results of our study with patient-specific case studies will eventually lead to a digital twin of the balloon angioplasty medical device, informing the clinicians to optimal pre-operative planning regarding the PTCA procedure.