Torsional behavior of peripheral vascular stents: The role of stent design parameters

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Torsional performance is a critical evaluation criterion in the design of peripheral vascular stents, enabling them to adapt to the deformation of the vessel to reduce damage to the vascular wall and thus avoiding in-stent restenosis (ISR). Therefore, this study employed the finite element method (FEM) to investigate the impact of stent design parameters on the torsional behavior of self-expanding peripheral vascular stents. These parameters included stent diameter and thickness, as well as the length and width of struts and links. Results revealed that among all parameters, strut length and width significantly influence the stent torsional performance, whereas link width has a lesser effect. Notably, increasing strut length and decreasing strut width were found to significantly reduce the required torque, with the twist metric (TM) reduced by approximately 86.3% when strut length increased from 1.2 to 2.8 mm. Moreover, reductions in stent diameter and thickness, alongside an increase in link length, further contributed to a decrease in TM, thereby enhancing the stent torsional performance. This study may provide insights for better peripheral stent design and clinical decision of stent choice.