Selection of helical braided flow diverter stents based on hemodynamic performance and mechanical properties

BACKGROUND: Although flow diversion is a promising procedure for the treatment of aneurysms, complications have been reported and it remains poorly understood. The occurrence of adverse outcomes is known to depend on both the mechanical properties and flow reduction effects of the flow diverter stent. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the possibility of designing a flow diverter stent considering both hemodynamic performance and mechanical properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted based on an ideal aneurysm model with flow diverters. Structural analyses of two flow diverter models exhibiting similar flow reduction effects were performed, and the radial stiffness and longitudinal flexibility were compared. RESULTS: In CFD simulations, two stents–Pore2-d35 (26.77° weave angle when fully expanded, 35 μm wire thickness) and Pore3-d50 (36.65°, 50 μm respectively)–demonstrated similar flow reduction rates (68.5% spatial-averaged velocity reduction rate, 85.0% area-averaged wall shear stress reduction rate for Pore2-d35, and 68.6%, 85.4%, respectively, for Pore3-d50). However, Pore3-d50 exhibited greater radial stiffness than Pore2-d35 (40.0 vs 21.0 mN/m at a 3.5 mm outer diameter) and less longitudinal flexibility (0.903 vs 0.104 N·mm bending moments at 90°). These measurements indicate that changing the wire thickness and weave angle allows adjustment of the mechanical properties while maintaining the same degree of flow reduction effects. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of CFD and structural analysis can provide promising solutions for an optimized stent. Stents exhibiting different mechanical properties but the same flow reduction effects could be designed by varying both the weave angle and wire thickness.