Stent Simulation

Stents are implanted devices used to prop open various types of body passageways such as blood vessels, bile ducts, urinary tracts and even the esophagus. They are usually delivered through a smaller catheter inserted percutaneously (through the skin). Stents may be self-expanding or balloon expandable and can be made from various materials including stainless steel, Elgiloy, tantalum, Nitinol or polymers. Depending on the application, stents are required to have a very high fatigue life - ten years of heart beat cycles equals approximately 400 million cycles in terms of fatigue.

The SIMULIA Abaqus Unified FEA software suite is used extensively to simulate stents and has played a role in US FDA device approval submissions. It has the capability of simulating the complete lifecycle of the stent and stent insertion equipment including manufacturing (laser cutting, annealing, insertion or crimping), insertion (bending, torsion, extension), expansion/deployment (lumen shape and diameter) and cycling.