Computational modeling of in-stent restenosis

In silico analyses of the stent-artery biomechanical system are able to support the medical research and the clinical practice for the long-term assessment of stent-based treatments of arterial narrowing. To reach this goal, this project aims to develop a computational tool for the modeling of the long-term behaviour of stent deployment, with a special focus on both current and prospective approaches. 

The project inherits a number of theoretical and computational challenges related to both material modeling and numerical implementation. In particular, the single ingredients that have to be faced and coupled are:

• the constitutive modeling of arterial tissues;
• the modeling of damage in arterial tissues;
• the modeling of growth-and-remodeling in arterial tissues;
• the development of a chemo-mechano-biological multiphysics framework;
• the modeling of metal and drug-eluting stents.

The project will allow to identify the dominant mechanisms driving in-stent restenosis, deciphering the role of the different molecular species in the pathological remodeling of arteries. Both BMSs and DESs therapeutic strategies will be addressed, with the aim of optimizing the clinical outcome of current approaches. Moreover, on the basis of obtained results, targeted therapeutic approaches will be potentially proposed.