Finite element analysis of the mechanical performance of a zinc alloy stent with the tenon-and-mortise structure

BACKGROUND: Inadequate scaffolding performance hinders the clinical application of the biodegradable zinc alloy stents. OBJECTIVE: In this study we propose a novel stent with the tenon-and-mortise structure to improve its scaffolding performance. METHODS: 3D models of stents were established in Pro/E. Based on the biodegradable zinc alloy material and two numerical simulation experiments were performed in ABAQUS. Firstly, the novel stent could be compressed to a small-closed ring by a crimp shell and can form a tenon-and-mortise structure after expanded by a balloon. Finally, 0.35 MPa was applied to the crimp shell to test the scaffolding performance of the novel stent and meanwhile compare it with an ordinary stent. RESULTS: Results showed that the novel stent decreased the recoiling ratio by 70.7% compared with the ordinary stent, indicating the novel structure improved the scaffolding performance of the biodegradable zinc alloy stent. CONCLUSION: This study proposes a novel design that is expected to improve the scaffolding performance of biodegradable stents.