Challenge:
Leading manufacturer Admedes was looking for ways to extend the lifespan of their implantable Nitinol stents, heart valve frames, and similar cardiovascular repair components.
Solution:
Simulating the implantation of devices within Dassault Systèmes’ Living Heart model, engineers used Abaqus FEA to identify strain areas and potential failure points of Nitinol structures, then optimized the shape of the components using Tosca Structure.
Benefit:
Admedes can now help their customers identify more accurate designs and contribute to the improvement of patient health and lifespans.
Make a fist. Now give it a good squeeze. This is the approximate size and function of an average human heart—a muscle that weighs little more than a double cheeseburger but pumps enough blood in a lifetime to fill several crude oil supertankers. The network of blood vessels connected to it is over 60,000 miles long. The largest of these—the aorta—is as big around as a garden hose, while the capillaries that feed individual cells are far smaller than the hairs on our heads. To say the human heart and the cardiovascular system that services it are complex is a gross understatement; they are intricate, indefatigable, and indeed wondrous.
For an average human, the heart beats more than 100,000 times each day—do the math and that means billions of heartbeats, assuming you’re fortunate enough to have good health. Yet sometimes that wonderful muscle fails prematurely. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of men and women alike, leading to heart attack, arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, and stroke. Millions of people are treated with stents each year to open clogged arteries. Millions more receive heart valve replacements, vascular filters, and occlusion devices.
Memory Metal
This is the work of Admedes Schuessler GmbH, a global manufacturer of stents and other lifesaving devices. Since 1996 Admedes has specialized in laser micromachining, assembly, and finishing of self-expanding Nitinol components for the medical industry. The teams in Germany and the United States consult with customers on product design and material selection, and offer services such as laboratory testing, prototype development, and full scale production of Nitinol-based medical products. They use Abaqus FEA software from Dassault Systèmes SIMULIA both internally and for their customers.
Want to learn more?
Discover The Living Heart Project and learn how Admedes leverages simulation to revolutionize heart implant and stent technology!
