A prospective bifurcated biomedical stent with seamless woven structure

Abstract

Bifurcated biomedical stents (BBSs) produced by three-dimensional tubular technology are typical substitutes for damaged tubular organs such as abdominal aorta branches, trachea branches, and esophagus branches in patients. They are generally made from thin cloth with stent-sutured method, by using manual loom or knitting loom. The existing BBSs may have some problems in busting strength, resistance to fatigue, porosity, and thickness. This paper proposes a novel method of performing design and fabrication for seamless woven BBSs with a modified rigid rapier-shuttle loom automatically. Seamless woven BBSs made from biocompatible polyester filaments were smoothly fabricated through the proposed method. The mechanical properties and water permeability of the resultant BBSs were analyzed by comparing commercial stents VP1200 K according to ISO 7198:1998. The result shows that the new BBS has better performance in terms of surface uniformity, mechanical properties, and water permeability.