| A new method is presented for fabrication of vascular stents using recently developed anisotropic titanium micromachining techniques adapted from microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The use of these techniques is motivated by the potential for providing a physical rather than pharmacological means of ensuring desirable outcomes in vascular stenting through rational design of stent surface topography at the nanometer scale. Recent in vitro studies have demonstrated the promise of such an approach on bulk titanium substrate surfaces (i.e. wafers), thus the objective of the current study is to develop the process technology required for extension of this approach to stents that could eventually be used for in vivo studies. Details regarding the design, modeling, fabrication, and mechanical testing of such stents are presented, and future efforts required to achieve the research objective are discussed. |
