Using CFD for a Sensitivity Analysis of Stent Design Parameters

The implantation of a stent is one option of treatment for cardiovascular diseases, which are the most common causes of death in the western industrial countries. The stent provides a mechanical force to the vessel wall, thereby restoring the required blood flow. It is commonly known that the stent alters the blood flow and therefore the wall shear stress distribution. It is also well established, that the occurrence of regions with low wall shear stress correlates with the prevalence of atherosclerosis. Thus, the hemodynamic influence of the stent should be regarded in the design process. In this paper we present a sensitivity analysis of different design parameters of a coronary stent model. CFD simulations were used to investigate the influence of the crown number, the strut thickness, the strut width, the strut length, the crown radius and the strut distance over a wide range. We are able to show that the strut thickness is the most important design parameter. Furthermore, the parameters describing the strut pattern can be reduced to one which indicates the angle of incident flow on the strut.