Design of Stents for Enhanced Endurance and Flexibility Investigation of Designs Possibilities Involving Auxetic Tubular Structures - DESTENEE

Institution CRP Henri Tudor
Partenaire(s) : Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA), Palaiseau (F) , Institut National de Chirurgie Cardiaque et de Cardiologie Interventionnelle - INCCI (L)
Du : 01/02/2010
Au : 31/01/2013
Budget : 386 000,00€
Contact(s) : Zaki Wael

Summary

The aim of this project is to develop new designs for biomedical stents with special focus on optimizing deliverability and reducing long-term complications occasioned by unexpected in vivo failure of the stent due to high-cycle fatigue. Two types of metallic platforms commonly used for manufacturing stents will be considered: AISI 316L stainless steel and medical-grade Nitinol (Nitrinol is acronym for "Nickel-Titanium Ordnance Laboratory").

Developing auxetic designs, which appears to be a very recent trend in stent design, will also be investigated. Recent reports indicate that designs with auxetic properties might be able to enhance flexibility while maintaining sufficient radial strength for the deployed stent. Stents are tubular devices that are introduced in narrowed vessels to prevent re-occlusion of a diseased region following angioplasty. The treatment of flow restriction in body lumens by means of percutaneous angioplasty and stenting is a minimally invasive technique that can advantageously replace surgical bypass in specific situations. Early stent designs were introduced in 1969 by Dr. Charles Dotter and consisted of simple stainless steel coil springs. Nowadays, stenting is a well established technique in interventional radiology and research is ongoing to optimize existing stent designs in order to facilitate delivery into smaller or more complicated lumen configurations and to overcome persisting clinical complications, like device-induced thrombosis due to cell proliferation within the stent, unexpected in vivo failure, etc.