Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Development Of A Dynamic In Vitro Model Of A Stented Blood Vessel To Evaluate The Effects Of Stent Strut Material Selection And Surface Coating On Smooth Muscle Cell Response, Bradley Winn

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in The United States and Europe, accounting for approximately half of all deaths. The most common form of cardiovascular disease is atherosclerosis, which is characterized by the formation of fatty atheromatous plaques that can grow to occlude the vessel lumen, thus causing ischemia distal to the occlusion. This is commonly treated using balloon angioplasty, which is usually done in conjunction with the deployment of a stent. Stent deployment helps hold the vessel open following the local injury caused by balloon inflation and prevents elastic recoil and subsequent negative remodeling. Stenting has been …