Effect of Iliac Vein Stent with Crown on Flow Field of Bifurcation

Abstract

Interference in blood flow at bifurcation after stent implantation is one of the important causes of thrombosis. Therefore, it is necessary to research the effects of stent structure and implantation position on hemodynamics. Computational fluid dynamics and experimental comparative research methods were used to analyze the influence of stent structure and position of stent on exit velocity, pressure difference between inlet and outlet, higher and lower wall shear stress areas and contralateral flow field. It is indicated in the research that the effect of iliac vein stent implantation on the flow velocity and pressure distribution at the outlet is not obvious, but stent implantation has an influence on the proportion of low wall shear stress and high wall shear stress area in the iliac vein. The low wall shear stress area is inversely proportional to the height of the stent. After stent is implanted, proportion of the high wall shear stress area will decrease, but the degree of decline is not obvious. As the height of stent is increased, the disturbing effect of stent on contralateral blood flow becomes more pronounced. In addition, it is confirmed by the experiments in vitro and in vivo that stent with crown would effectively reduce the interference to the contralateral flow field and the risk of thrombosis and restenosis. Finite element analysis provides effective theoretical support for studying the influence of iliac vein stent implantation on blood flow field.