Intelligent Integrated Stent

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“Smart” stents have become an important field of research worldwide in recent years. Despite the worldwide acceptance of stents in treating vascular blockages, blockage recurrence is a common problem. It is caused by in-stent restenosis which develops and leads to a secondary blockage of the artery near the implanted stent. The artery needs to be continuously monitored with X-Ray systems to predict and prevent restenosis. If it is left unchecked, then a sudden secondary blockage and life risk could occur. There are a variety of strategies focusing on resolving this issue such as using novel materials like metal alloys and biodegradable polymers either as the body of the device or as a coating, which may integrate passive sensory components directly onto the device to wirelessly monitor blood pressure inside a coronary artery. However, current technologies applied to all these 3D devices do not allow for monolithic fabrication of any high integration level electronics. They include are relatively simple electronic solutions with only passive electrical components that show little to no capability of including “smarter” active electronics. In this proposal we are going to go beyond state-of-the-art, with a new approach to manufacture stents with integrated magnetic and electronic functionalities in a monolithic parallel planar fabrication manner. “Smart” stents will integrate numerous thin-film sensor elements, passive and active components. Such stents will rely on shapeable materials technologies to transform initially planar structures into 3D “Swiss-roll” architecture that can adapt their shape on demand, which is a unique feature for electronics in general and very useful in constructing implantable devices. We will explore this feature in manufacturing and in final model application scenarios, where cardiovascular stents can be assembled and deployed during implantation and continue operation in a dynamic environment similar to a real ardiovascular system. In our work we will address several key points, which are the fabrication of the stent body via microfabrication and subsequent 3D self-assembly; exploring three methods to deploy such stents in the operating environment; integration of passive and active electronic functionalities for continuous, real-time monitoring of blood pulsation, flow, and pressure; and evaluation of stent and stent materials in a model phantom. This work will be based on a long-term expertise in material synthesis, characterization and processing available at the Leibniz IFW Dresden, and expertise in micropatterning and microelectronic integration within 3D tubular rchitectures available at TU Chemnitz. This project will benefit from the support provided by the Mercator fellow Prof. Dr. CheolGi Kim, who is an expert in bio- and magnetic sensors with a broad network of collaborations at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Medical University Youngnam and Sangji University of Korea.