Improving Post-EVAR Surveillance with a Smart Stent-Graft - Technologies for Medical Sciences - page 261

Improving Post-EVAR Surveillance
with a Smart Stent-Graft

Isa C.T. Santos, Alexandra T. Sepulveda, J ulio C. Viana, Ant onio J. Pontes,
Brian L. Wardle, S.M. Sampaio, R. Roncon-Albuquerque,
Jo ao Manuel R. S. Tavares, and L.A. Rocha

Abstract Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA or triple A's) are indolent and
deadly diseases. Their treatment options involve either an invasive procedure or
a minimally invasive one. When the minimally invasive procedure, endovascular
aneurysm repair (EVAR), was introduced, it revolutionized the treatment of AAA's
due to advantages such as shortened hospital stays and reduced costs. As EVAR
requires periodic imaging exams, questions are nowadays being raised regarding the
procedure's long-term cost-benefit relation. In order to reduce follow-up costs, new
technological solutions are being pursued, namely EVAR stent-grafts with sensing
capabilities. In this chapter, the suitability of aneurysm sac pressure measurement
for EVAR surveillance is evaluated using an AAA computer model. In addition the
design drivers underlying EVAR stent-grafts are reviewed and the development of a
new flexible pressure sensor integrated into a stent-graft is described.

I.C.T. Santos ( )￿J.M.R.S.Tavares
Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto/Instituto de Engenharia Mecanica e Gestao
Industrial, Porto, Portugal
e-mail: [e-mail] ; [e-mail]
A.T. Sepulveda ￿ J.C. Viana ￿ A.J. Pontes ￿ L.A. Rocha
Institute for Polymers and Composites/I3N, University of Minho, Guimaraes, Portugal
e-mail: [e-mail] ; [e-mail] ; [e-mail] ;
[e-mail]
B.L. Wardle
Technology Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Structures, Department of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
e-mail: [e-mail]
S.M. Sampaio ￿ R. Roncon-Albuquerque
Vascular Surgery Hospital S. Joao, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto,
Porto, Portugal
e-mail: [e-mail] ; [e-mail]