Analisi del comportamento biomeccanico di stent: un approccio agli elementi finiti (in italian) - Analysis of stent biomechanics: A finite element approach

In this paper several stent typologies (self-expandable and ballon-expandable), employed to treat coronary and intravascular stenotic arteries, are analyzed through a three-dimensional finite-element approach, based on a large strain and large displacement formulation. In detail, varying a number of geometrical parameters, statical and dynamical numerical simulations are performed to evaluate stent mechanical behaviour (in terms of radial variation, foreshortening and flexibility) and interaction effects between mechanical devices and treated biological tissue. Numerical simulations on stenting and angioplasty, obtained by considering several coupled discrete models of the stent-artery system and based on a classical friction-free contact algorithm, allow to evaluate the influence of device typology and vascular geometry on both biomechanical interaction effects and effectiveness of the medical treatment.