Goals
- Support the vessel
- Avoid collapsing or kinking
- Restore blood flow to the lungs
- Expand as the patient grows
- Last for at least 10 years
- Remain in place
- Minimize health risks to the patient
Preliminary Designs
This design uses spring-like elements to expand. The spacing and diameter, or pitch, of the curves can be adjusted to change the outward force.
This design uses a shape memory alloy, a material that “remembers” a set shape. Stents made of this material can be compressed and then return back to their original size in the body. This design would be set to the full size and would use constraining members to limit the expansion to match the rate of growth.
This design uses coiled rings to expand and a wedge-lock mechanism, similar to a zip tie, to prevent the stent from collapsing.
Design Selection
The design we selected uses spring elements to expand. The “elbow” connectors allow for flexibility and help distribute the load along the length of the stent
