Optimal Stent Selection for the Femoropopliteal Artery

Angioplasty and stenting for atherosclerotic occlusive disease in the arteries supplying the legs (Peripheral Arterial Disease, PAD) is the most common endovascular procedure outside of the heart, but carries the highest rate of reconstruction failure. The underlying reasons for these poor results are not completely clear, but the main arterial segment within the leg, the femoropopliteal artery, appears to be significantly different from other peripheral arteries because the Superficial Femoral Artery (SFA) and Popliteal Artery (PA) that comprise the femoropopliteal artery (FPA) segment, undergo large deformations during flexion of the limb. We propose to build mathematical models of human FPAs repaired with several frequently used PAD stents. These mathematical models would be able to assess the mechanical stress in the stented SFA and PA associated with limb flexion and predict disease recurrence for arteries with different patient and lesion characteristics. Results of model predictions will be validated in patients with PAD stents who have received these stents as part of their standard of care.