Adaptation of cardiovascular system stent implants

Time-consuming design and manufacturing processes are a serious disadvantage when adapting human cardiovascular implants as they cause unacceptable delays after the decision to intervene surgically has been made. An ideal cardiovascular implant should have a broad range of characteristics such as strength, visco-elasticity and blood compatibility. The present research proposes the sequence of the geometrical adaptation procedures and presents their results. The adaptation starts from the identification of a person's current health status while performing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) imaging, which is a point of departure for the mathematical model of a cardiovascular implant. The computerized tomography scan shows the patient-specific geometry parameters of AAA and helps to create a model using COMSOL Multiphysics software. The initial parameters for flow simulation are taken from the results of a patient survey. The simulation results allow choosing the available shape of an implant which ensures a non-turbulent flow. These parameters are essential for the design and manufacturing of an implant prototype which should be tested experimentally for the assurance that the mathematical model is adequate to a physical one. The article gives a focused description of competences and means that are necessary to achieve the shortest possible preparation of the adapted cardiovascular implant for the surgery.