Department of Structural Mechanics, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Italy.
J Endovasc Ther. 2011 Jun;18(3):397-406. doi: 10.1583/10-3338.1.
To quantitatively evaluate the impact of carotid stent cell design on vessel scaffolding by using patient-specific finite element analysis of carotid artery stenting (CAS).
The study was organized in 2 parts: (1) validation of a patient-specific finite element analysis of CAS and (2) evaluation of vessel scaffolding. Micro-computed tomography (CT) images of an open-cell stent deployed in a patient-specific silicone mock artery were compared with the corresponding finite element analysis results. This simulation was repeated for the closed-cell counterpart. In the second part, the stent strut distribution, as reflected by the inter-strut angles, was evaluated for both cell types in different vessel cross sections as a measure of scaffolding.
The results of the patient-specific finite element analysis of CAS matched well with experimental stent deployment both qualitatively and quantitatively, demonstrating the reliability of the numerical approach. The measured inter-strut angles suggested that the closed-cell design provided superior vessel scaffolding compared to the open-cell counterpart. However, the full strut interconnection of the closed-cell design reduced the stent's ability to accommodate to the irregular eccentric profile of the vessel cross section, leading to a gap between the stent surface and the vessel wall.
Even though this study was limited to a single stent design and one vascular anatomy, the study confirmed the capability of dedicated computer simulations to predict differences in scaffolding by open- and closed-cell carotid artery stents. These simulations have the potential to be used in the design of novel carotid stents or for procedure planning.
通过对颈动脉支架置入术（CAS）的患者特定有限元分析，定量评估颈动脉支架细胞设计对血管支架的影响。
研究分为两部分：（1）验证 CAS 的患者特定有限元分析，（2）评估血管支架。将已在患者特定的硅橡胶模拟动脉中展开的开孔支架的微计算机断层扫描（CT）图像与相应的有限元分析结果进行比较。对相应的闭孔支架进行了重复模拟。在第二部分中，通过测量两种细胞类型在不同血管截面的支架支柱分布（反映为支柱间角度）来评估支架，作为支架的度量。
CAS 的患者特定有限元分析的结果在定性和定量上都与实验支架展开非常吻合，证明了数值方法的可靠性。测量的支柱间角度表明，闭孔设计比开孔设计提供了更好的血管支架。然而，闭孔设计的完全支柱连接减少了支架适应血管截面不规则偏心轮廓的能力，导致支架表面和血管壁之间存在间隙。
尽管这项研究仅限于单一支架设计和一种血管解剖结构，但研究证实了专用计算机模拟在预测开孔和闭孔颈动脉支架的支架能力方面的能力。这些模拟有可能用于新型颈动脉支架的设计或手术规划。
