Biodegradable vascular stent, also known as the third generation stent, has recently been widely studied. Finite element models of three stents with the same structure and different specifications were developed. The mechanical behavior under crimping, expanding and fatigue testing were assessed by von Mises yield and Goodman convergence. The maximum stress during crimping, expanding and fatigue testing were all observed in the stent with the largest size. The results indicated that the largest stent had the highest risk of failure and also provided theoretical evidence for the worst case scenario in the fatigue testing.
Keywords: biodegradable; finite element analysis; poly-l-lactic acid; stent.