HEMODYNAMIC PERFORMANCE OF THREE FLOW DIVERTING STENTS FOR TREATMENT OF ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM BASED ON A SIMPLIFIED PATIENT-SPECIFIC MODEL: A COMPARISON STUDY

Abstract

In order to avoid aneurysm rupture, flow-diverting stents are deployed. This research presents a simplified patient-specific abdominal aortic model to test and assess the effects of three different not-covered flow-diverting stents (NCFDS): WALLSTENT™ is a commercially available NCFDS, while STENT BS and STENT PFS are numerically designed NCFDSs. Flow characteristics in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) were studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques on each stent before and after the procedure. We computed and compared the estimated flow structure, pressure, and wall shear stress (WSS) related indices between the three NCFDSs; these are crucial factors for evaluating aneurysm occlusion and rupture. The minimum estimated flow, pressure, and time average wall shear stress (TAWSS) and the maximum oscillatory shear index (OSI) and endothelial cell action potential (ECAP) are associated with using STENT PFS. Therefore, it may contribute to establishing a thrombus within the aneurysm sac and aneurysm shrinkage.