Abstract
One of the treatment modalities available for tracheobronchial obstruction is stenting. The airway stent is inserted into the stenotic site to push back invading tumors and to restore patency to the respiratory tract. Occasionally, the patient's tracheobronchial anatomy may deviate from the norm or the unresectable lesion can be stiffer than normal. In such instances, customised stents have to be produced in relatively short times. This paper describes an Airway Stent Customisation Protocol (ASCP) that combines a semi-empirical model, Rapid Prototyping (RP) and Rapid Tooling (RT) techniques for customising such a stent. Different variables relating to polymeric tracheobronchial stent performance were then investigated and results of the ex-vivo and bench-top mechanical tests include: (1) Distending strength and (2) Collapsibility. The test methods were then used to compare the mechanical properties of a prototype stent (fabricated via the ASCP) with the commercially available Dumon stent.