A method to determine the kink resistance of stents and stent delivery systems according to international standards

Abstract The kink behavior of vascular stents is of particular interest for clinicians, stent manufacturers and regulatory as a kinked stent generates a lumen loss in the stented vessel and can lead to in-stent restenosis. In this study methods to determine the kink resistance of stents and stent delivery systems according to the ISO 25539-2 and FDA guidance no. 1545 were presented. The methods are applicable for balloon expandable stents as well as for self-expanding stents and determine the lumen loss and residual diameter change dependent on the specific bending radius.