A Parametric Tool for Studying a New Tracheobronchial Silicone Stent Prototype: Toward a Customized 3D Printable Prosthesis

Jesús Zurita-Gabasa,Mauro Malvè,José Luis López-Villalobos,Cristina Díaz-Jiménez,Carmen Sánchez-Matás

doi:10.3390/math9172118

Abstract

The management of complex airway disorders is challenging, as the airway stent placement usually results in several complications. Tissue reaction to the foreign body, poor mechanical properties and inadequate fit of the stent in the airway are some of the reported problems. For this reason, the design of customized biomedical devices to improve the accuracy of the clinical results has recently gained interest. The aim of the present study is to introduce a parametric tool for the design of a new tracheo-bronchial stent that could be capable of improving some of the performances of the commercial devices. The proposed methodology is based on the computer aided design software and on the finite element modeling. The computational results are validated by a parallel experimental work that includes the production of selected stent configurations using the 3D printing technology and their compressive test.

Highlights

Accepted: 24 August 2021Tracheobronchial or airway stents are tubular scaffolds used for enlarging a constricted airway or supporting the trachea and/or bronchi from collapse
The comparison is shown for a specific configuration in which the ratio wt /wb is fixed and equal to unity and the same number of cells in radial and longitudinal direction have been considered (n L = number of cells located in circumferential (n R) = 5)
The presented results can be generalized for different values of n R and number in longitudinal (n L)

Summary

Introduction

Tracheobronchial or airway stents are tubular scaffolds used for enlarging a constricted airway or supporting the trachea and/or bronchi from collapse. This can be due to airways obstructions caused by prolonged intubation, or benignant or malignant carcinoma and tracheomalacia that may lead to several morbidities. Usually made of steel or nitinol, are similar to those used in the cardiovascular field. They promote re-epithalization that avoids migration, but cannot avoid restenosis, becoming less efficient as soon as the airway tissue grows and cause frequent granulations [4]. The covered metallic stents or hybrid stents have solved the problem of the restenosis [5]

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