Comparing the Effect of Helical-centerline Stent Placement on Blood Flow Velocity with a Straight Stent

Stent treatment can be used to treat blood vessel stenosis in a less invasive manner, but re-stenosis is a concern. Because a helical-stent configuration has been thought to reduce the amount of intimal hyperplasia, the helical stent is considered clinically effective. The effects of the helical stent on blood flow velocity, however, have not been studied. In this study, we estimated flow velocities before and after helical stenting using time-intensity-curve (TIC) from angiography images and compared them with straight stenting velocities. As a result, in all cases (N = 3), the velocity reduction was less with helical stenting than with straight stenting. Based on angiography images, this flow estimation method can estimate patient-specific blood flow velocity in situ even in a presence of a stent.