ABSTRACT
Objective In order to avoid early restenosis after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation, the retrievable structure of the NiTi alloy stent and its biomechanical analysis were studied. Methods The geometric models of the retrievable vascular stent and the retrieval system were established. The retrieval part of the stent consisted of four symmetrically distributed tendons, which were designed as circular meshes. The distribution of the maximum strain during stent compression and its uniformity during compression and self-expansion were analyzed, and the simulation experiments of the retrieval process were also performed. Results The maximum strain of the stent was 3.7% and the index of non-uniformity (INU) was 0.62% when the stent was compressed to the minimum size. While the IBU was 1.31% after the self-expansion process completed. The maximum strain was 1.2% when half of the stent was retrieved into the outer sheath. Conclusions The stent could be safely and successfully retrieved into the outer sheath as the strain was within the bearable range of the material and the compression and self-expansion process was relatively uniform. The research findings provide important references for structural design, biomechanical analysis and potential clinical applications of the novel retrievable vascular stent.