Numerical Modelling of Stenting Procedures in Coronary Bifurcations: A Structural and Fluid Dynamic Combined Approach

Stenting procedures give the opportunity to treat cardiovascular diseases with a time saving, cost effective and minimally invasive procedure if compared to coronary artery by-pass, ensuring at the same time better clinical results than balloon angioplasty. Despite their success, stenting procedures are still associated to some clinical problems like sub-acute thrombosis (ST) and in-stent restenosis (ISR) whose main outcome is the re-narrowing of the coronary vessels and the necessity of a new treatment to restore blood flow and perfusion to downstream tissues. Their mechanisms and causes are still not fully understood but clinical and biological studies agree the idea that these are caused by a combination of both structural and hemodynamic factors [1,2].