EFFICACY OF DRUG-COATED BALLOONS: A COMPUTATIONAL ASSESSMENT

Abstract

Percutaneous interventional cardiology has improved significantly over the past decade. Drug-coated balloons and drug-eluting stents have notably improved the clinical outcome in patients with occluded vessels. However, despite these improvements, coronary artery disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Unfortunately, contemporary in-vitro methods are unable to account for the complexities of the in-vivo conditions. While animal trials are the gold standard when assessing the safety and efficacy of interventional devices, they are often not accessible to investigate the mechanisms that drive transport due to cost and ethical reasons. Therefore, in recent years, researchers have increasingly turned to in-silico modelling to gain a better understanding of the transport of active pharmaceuticals in arteries. However, in the current literature, very few studies account for atherosclerosis. In this dissertation, we address this limitation by quantifying the influence of atherosclerosis, as well as other features, on the efficacy of drug-coated balloon therapy.