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Hemodynamics and In-stent Restenosis: Micro-CT Images, Histology, and Computer Simulations

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Abstract

A model that combines the results of in vivo experiment, 3D image data, and computer simulation has been developed. Twelve identical stents were implanted into six healthy pigs and explanted at a range of different post-recovery periods from 6 h to 28 days. The stented vessel segments were embedded in methacrylate resin for the preparation of transverse histological sections and imaged using ultra-high resolution micro-CT. The resulting CT data was used to reconstruct the 3D geometry of the stents and one case was used to inform a 3D computational fluid dynamic model. Derived hemodynamic parameters such as wall shear stress (WSS), axial WSS, and oscillatory shear index were correlated with the distribution of neointimal hyperplasia, assessed from histomorphometric analyses. The direct comparison of hemodynamic parameters and biological response supports the hypothesis that low and oscillatory WSS lead to a greater neointimal response within the stented region. Moreover, the realistic geometry obtained from micro-CT images, characterized by proximal overexpansion and asymmetric deployment of the stent, leads to a markedly non-uniform distribution of WSS values and correlates with asymmetric neo-intimal growth. This correlation cannot be appreciated from studies of idealized geometries.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been partially supported by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT, Genoa, Italy), within the project “Models and methods for local drug delivery from nano/micro structured materials,” and by the European Commission through MeDDiCA Marie Curie Initial Training Network (www.meddica.eu, EU-FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement PITN-GA-2009-238113).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biological Structure Mechanics, Structural Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Morlacchi, Brandis Keller, Patrizia Arcangeli, Marta Balzan, Francesco Migliavacca & Gabriele Dubini

  2. Bioengineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Morlacchi & Brandis Keller

  3. Department of Cardiovascular Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Julian Gunn, Nadine Arnold, Andrew Narracott, David Evans & Patricia Lawford

Authors
  1. Stefano Morlacchi
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  2. Brandis Keller
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  3. Patrizia Arcangeli
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  4. Marta Balzan
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  5. Francesco Migliavacca
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  6. Gabriele Dubini
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  7. Julian Gunn
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  8. Nadine Arnold
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  9. Andrew Narracott
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  10. David Evans
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  11. Patricia Lawford
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesco Migliavacca.

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Associate Editor Stefan Jockenhoevel oversaw the review of this article.

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Morlacchi, S., Keller, B., Arcangeli, P. et al. Hemodynamics and In-stent Restenosis: Micro-CT Images, Histology, and Computer Simulations. Ann Biomed Eng 39, 2615–2626 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-011-0355-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-011-0355-9

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