Yunbing Wang, Daniel Castro, Tim Limon, Richard Rapoza: Abbott

Abstract
Since the 1990s, stenting, or the insertion of a small metal scaffolds in arteries, has been widely used for the treatment of various vascularand endovascular diseases caused by the narrowing or blockage of blood vessels. Currently, all commercially available stent scaffolds are made from metals. These stents remain in the vessels permanently after implantation, which often renders any further non-invasive screening such as MRI or re-intervention problematic and runs the risk of causing serious late thrombosis. Fortunately, this issue can be resolved by using a bioabsorbable stent, which is intended to disappear after a vessel has fully healed. This paper presents the basic principles in bioabsorbable stent design such as material selection, stent pattern design, radial strength, absorption time, and radiopacity requirements. Next, the authors present a brief history of various bioabsorbable polymeric stent developments including the original Duke stent, the Igaki-Tamai stent, the current Abbott bioabsorbable and Reva stents, and the bioerodible metallic stent (Biotronik Stent). Finally, a perspective of this new technology concludes this paper.