• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.111-116
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• 2013

Finite element analysis(FEA) has been extensively applied in the analyses of biomechanical properties of stents. Geometrically, a closed-cell stent is an assembly of a number of repeated unit cells and exhibits periodicity in both longitudinal and circumferential directions. This study concentrates on various parameters of the FEA models for the analysis of drug-eluting biodegradable polymeric stents for application to the treatment of coronary artery disease. In order to determine the mechanical characteristics of biodegradable polymeric stents, FEA was used to model two different types of stents: tubular stents(TS) and helicoidal stents(HS). For this modeling, epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG)-eluting poly[(L-lactide-co-${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone), PLCL] (E-PLCL) was chosen as drug-eluting stent materials. E-PLCL was prepared by blending PLCL with 5% EGCG as previously described. In addition, the effects of EGCG blending on the mechanical properties of PLCL were investigated for both types of stent models. EGCG did not affect tensile strength at break, but significantly increased elastic modulus of PLCL. It is suggested that FEA is a cost-effective method to improve the design of drug-eluting biodegradable polymeric stents.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.31 no.1 s.256
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• pp.21-28
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• 2007

The use of drug-eluting stents has dramatically reduced the incidence of restenosis however, much remains to be teamed about the performance of these stouts. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the design of drug-eluting stents influences the efficacy of local drug delivery to the arterial wall and that this effect depends on both arterial geometry and the prevailing flow conditions. We performed computational simulations in which the coupled Navier-Stokes and advection-diffusion equations were solved to determine the flow field and drug concentration in the vicinity of model drug-eluting stouts It is found that the characteristics of flow phenomena can be influenced greatly by the ratio of stent diameter to vessel diameter. The presence of drug-eluting stent may have profound effect on wall shear stresses, recirculation sizes and drug distributions. The results show that recirculation zone is influenced by the imposed flow conditions and stent diameter. In pulsatile flow, the low wall shear stress and high drug concentration occur along the arterial wall during the decelerating flow conditions. These results could provide the guideline for future drug-eluting stent designs toward reducing restenosis by affecting local wall shear stress distributions associated with neointimal hyperplasia.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2014

Many studies have suggested that in the era of Drug-Eluting Stents(DES) are one of the causes of In-Stent Restenosis(ISR) of Stent Fracture(SF). The present study sought to evaluate clinical characteristics of patients with stent fracture after successful DES implantation. The 4,701 patients were selected for analysis who underwent a follow-up coronary angiography irrespective of ischemic symptoms. The overall incidence of SF was 32 patients(male:female=19:13, Av. age $62.44{\pm}9.8$year, 0.68%). Fractures of Sirolimus-Eluting Stents(SES), Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents(PES), Biolimus A9-Eluting Stents(BES), Everolimus-Eluting Etents(EES), Endothelial Progenitor Cell Capture Stent(EPC) and Zotarolimus-Eluting Stents(ZES) are accounted for 19(59.4%), 9(28.1%), 2(6.3%), 1(3.1%), 1(3.1%) and 0(0%) respectively. SF developed in the left Anterior Dscending(LAD) artery in 16 patients(50%) and in complex(type B2, C) lesions in 25 patients(69.4%). Ten patients were treated with heterogenous DES, the rest being treated with either homogenous DES(3 patients), plain old balloon angioplasty(3 patients), or conservative medical treatment(17 patients). None of the patients with SF suffered from cardiac death during a follow-up period of $32.9{\pm}12.4$ months. The overall rate of DES fracture over up to 3.7 years of follow-up was 0.68% with higher incidence in SES than in PES. SF frequently occurred in the LAD artery and in complex lesions. Of the patients with SF, coronary intervention was performed only when the binary restenosis lesion was significant. During the follow-up, patients with SF have continued on combination antiplatelet therapy. There is a very low rate of major adverse cardiac events(post-detection of SF), especially cardiac death associated with SF.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 2009

Numerical investigations have been conducted on the assessment of the performance of drug-eluting stent. Computational fluid dynamics is applied to investigate the flow disturbances and drug distributions released from the stent in the immediate vicinity of the given idealized stent in the protrusion into the flow domain. Our simulations have revealed the drug concentration in the flow field due to the presence of a drug-eluting stent within an arterial segment. Wall shear stress increases with Reynolds number for a given stent diameter, while it increases with stent diameter for a given Reynolds number. The drug concentration is dependent on both Reynolds number and stent geometry. In pulsatile flow, the minimum drug concentration in the zone of inter-wire spacing occurs at the maximum acceleration of the inlet flow while the maximum drug concentration gains at the maximum deceleration of the inlet flow. These results provide an understanding of the flow physics in the vicinity of drug-eluting stents and suggest strategies for optimal performance of drug-eluting stent to minimize flow disturbance.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.131-150
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• 2014

Vascular stenting has a great attention as a treatment for coronary arteries diseases as compared with percutaneous balloon angioplasty. In-stent restenosis and thrombosis are side effects resulting from using bare metal stent (BMS). Employing platelet therapy allowed to reduce the rate of thrombosis, however, the rate of restenosis remains a major problem. In 2002, drug-eluting stents (DESs) were introduced as an effort to reduce the restenosis. The commercially available DESs continue to suffer from coating defects that might lead to a series of adverse effects. Most importantly, multiple concerns remain regarding the polymer coating integrity on metal surfaces or the relation of polymer irregularities to longterm adverse events.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.178-183
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• 2010

Medical metal stents inserted to patients with a cardiovascular disease associated with coronary artery system have relatively increased the survival rate. The development of new stents is, however, urgently required due to restenosis and late thrombosis generated in metal stents. To solve these problems, the biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), poly(L-lactide)(PLLA), and poly ($\varepsilon$-caprolactone)(PCL) were mixed with alpha lipoic acid (ALA), which is well known to inhibit the proliferation of neointimal hyperplasia. Subsequently, the ALA-loaded polymers were coated on stainless steel by electrospray. The drug-eluting behaviors from the coated polymers were investigated according to kinds and concentrations of polymers, spray rates, and kinds of solvents. The drug-eluting rate from PCL with the lowest glass transition temperature was the fastest among three polymers and followed by PLGA and PLLA. The surface roughness increased as the spray rate was increased and also the drug-eluting rate was affected by kinds of solvents with different boiling point. It is expected that drug-eluting stent (DES) coated with ALA-loaded polymers can be applied practically for clinical applications by controlling the behavior of drug release.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.69-72
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• 2013

The goal of this study is to develop test method for evaluating the drug eluting properties of drug eluting stents (DES). PBS and the detergent solutions, presented by each DES manufacturer, were used for drug release of DES coated with paclitaxel, zotarolimus and everolimus. The drugs which are coating DES were not released by PBS but released by the detergent solutions, finally paclitaxel 83.38%, zotarolimus 103.85% and everolimus 115.78%. It seems that the use of the detergents is necessary in order to release the drugs because those drugs are extremely hydrophobic. In conclusion, using of detergent solutions presented by each manufacturer were suitable for evaluating the drug eluting property of drug eluting stent.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.201-209
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• 2013

Objectives: The goal of this study was to perform an economic analysis of a primary stenting with drug-eluting stents (DES) compared with bare-metal stents (BMS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) admitted through an emergency room (ER) visit in Korea using population-based data. Methods: We employed a cost-minimization method using a decision analytic model with a two-year time period. Model probabilities and costs were obtained from a published systematic review and population-based data from which a retrospective database analysis of the national reimbursement database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment covering 2006 through 2010 was performed. Uncertainty was evaluated using one-way sensitivity analyses and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Results: Among 513 979 cases with AMI during 2007 and 2008, 24 742 cases underwent stenting procedures and 20 320 patients admitted through an ER visit with primary stenting were identified in the base model. The transition probabilities of DES-to-DES, DES-to-BMS, DES-to-coronary artery bypass graft, and DES-to-balloon were 59.7%, 0.6%, 4.3%, and 35.3%, respectively, among these patients. The average two-year costs of DES and BMS in 2011 Korean won were 11 065 528 won/person and 9 647 647 won/person, respectively. DES resulted in higher costs than BMS by 1 417 882 won/person. The model was highly sensitive to the probability and costs of having no revascularization. Conclusions: Primary stenting with BMS for AMI with an ER visit was shown to be a cost-saving procedure compared with DES in Korea. Caution is needed when applying this finding to patients with a higher level of severity in health status.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.273-283
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• 2012

Drug-eluting stents (DES) have significantly reduced in-stent restenosis, compared to bare-metal stents (BMS). However, there remains concern for the increased risk of stent thrombosis (ST) associated with DES. The present study sought to evaluate the incidence, clinical characteristics and outcome of ST in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) during a 1-year follow-up. 80 patients who developed ST were divided into 2 groups according to stent type: group I (DES-ST, n = 57 ) and group II (BMS-ST, n = 23 ). There were no differences between group I and II in the overall incidence of ST (2.7% vs. 4.3%, p=0.064) and in the incidence of each type of ST: acute ST (8.8% vs. 2.3%), subacute ST (50.9% vs. 60.9%), late ST (19.3% vs. 8.7%), and very late ST (21.1% vs. 17.4%) (p=0.605). Predictors of 1-year mortality were the occurrence of ST (OR 8.12, 95% CI 2.83-23.61, p<0.001), left ventricular ejection fraction<40% (OR 6.41, 95% CI 2.42-16.96, p<0.001), and age${\geq}$75 years (OR 4.98, 95% CI 1.95-12.74, p=0.001).

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.601-607
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• 2012

In this study, we performed computational fluid dynamic simulations to explore how the detailed design of drug-eluting stents affects both the flow field in the vicinity of the stent as well as the concentration of the eluted drug at the endothelial cell surface. Simulations were performed on three idealized stent geometries we developed and on geometries approximating three commercial stents,: Medtronic's Aurora stent, Cordis's BX Velocity stent, and Boston Scientific's Wallstent. An important contribution of the present study is the introduction of the stent effectiveness index (EI), which provides a quantitative assessment of stent performance and an objective basis for comparing the performance of different stents. Among the three commercial stents studied, our simulations have revealed that the BX Velocity stent is associated with the lowest in-stent EI values for the range of flow Reynolds numbers studied ($200{\leq}Re{\leq}800$). In addition to commercial stent designs, we investigated the EI in three idealized stents and determined that a spiral stent provides excellent performance (low EI) under all flow conditions investigated.