Investigating the effect of intelligent alloy material properties on the performance of stents used in human trachea using FEM

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

• Hamidreza Mortazavy Beni

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Arsanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arsanjan, Iran

10.30495/jnm.2024.33507.2044

Abstract

Abstract
Introduction: An intelligent alloy stent can be used in the upper respiratory system to reduce problems such as deformation according to the actual body conditions compared to other stents. This study studied the behavior of two types of intelligent alloy stents with different metallurgical properties using the finite element method (FEM).
Methods: Tracheal geometry was obtained from a healthy person's computed tomography (CT) images. Then, a finite element model of a real human trachea was selected to analyze the deformation of the trachea after the prosthesis implant. Finally, it was analyzed under the maximum average static pressure entering the trachea using the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) approach. A mesh based on structured elements for the tracheal wall and an unstructured mesh for air-fluid were created to perform simulations in ANSYS software.
Findings: The deformation of the stent was analyzed and compared with the deformation of the healthy trachea in the absence of the prosthesis. The results showed that the most deformation in the trachea before stenting is up to 3.8 mm. The behavior of intelligent alloy 2 with 5.8 mm deformation was more consistent with tracheal deformation conditions for real body conditions without the presence of a stent. As much as the deformation is reduced by the amount of stress concentration in the stent-trachea junction, the risks of stent displacement and patient suffocation are avoided.
Conclusion: This research can provide a suitable way to determine the behavior of intelligent stents according to the effects of their different metallurgical properties.

Keywords

• Intelligent alloys
• Stent
• Trachea
• FEM
• FSI

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