Mathematical Model for Predicting Arterial Drug Diffusion from Drug-Eluting Stents

Abstract

Arterial blockages are a common and significant clinical problem. One clinical method to clear these blockages is to deploy drug-eluting stents (DES) to restore blood flow through a narrowed artery. However, the design of a DES poses a unique challenge, because the concentration of drug within the arterial tissue must be therapeutically sufficient to interrupt the pathogenesis of restenosis. Characterizing the factors that determine drug kinetics and partitioning within the arterial wall is of paramount importance, especially when delivering drugs with narrow safety margins. This article presents a three-dimensional mathematical model for accurately predicting arterial drug concentration and flux after the drug is released from a stent, so that drug-eluting stents can be designed more efficiently to treat arterial blockages. The mathematical model is then solved using the COMSOL solver.