In the last decade, many computational models have been developed to describe the transport of drug eluted from stents and the subsequent uptake into arterial tissue. Each of these models has its own set of limitations: for example, models typically employ simplified stent and arterial geometries, some models assume a homogeneous arterial wall, and others neglect the influence of blood flow and plasma filtration on the drug transport process. In this study, we focus on two common limitations. Specifically, we provide a comprehensive investigation of the influence of arterial curvature and plaque composition on drug transport in the arterial wall following drug-eluting stent implantation. The arterial wall is considered as a three-layered structure including the subendothelial space, the media and the adventitia, with porous membranes separating them (endothelium, internal and external elastic lamina). Blood flow is modelled by the Navier–Stokes equations, while Darcy’s law is used to calculate plasma filtration through the porous layers. Our findings demonstrate that arterial curvature and plaque composition have important influences on the spatiotemporal distribution of drug, with potential implications in terms of effectiveness of the treatment. Since the majority of computational models tend to neglect these features, these models are likely to be under- or over-estimating drug uptake and redistribution in arterial tissue.

在过去的十年中，已经开发了许多计算模型来描述从支架洗脱的药物的运输以及随后进入动脉组织的摄取。这些模型中的每一个都有其自身的一组局限性：例如，模型通常采用简化的支架和动脉几何结构，一些模型假设动脉壁均匀，而其他模型则忽略了血流和血浆过滤对药物运输过程的影响。在这项研究中，我们关注两个常见的局限性。具体而言，我们全面研究了动脉曲率和斑块组成对药物洗脱支架植入后动脉壁药物转运的影响。动脉壁被认为是一个三层结构，包括内皮下空间、中膜和外膜，用多孔膜将它们隔开（内皮、内部和外部弹性层）。血流由纳维-斯托克斯方程建模，而达西定律用于计算通过多孔层的血浆过滤。我们的研究结果表明，动脉曲率和斑块组成对药物的时空分布具有重要影响，对治疗的有效性具有潜在影响。由于大多数计算模型倾向于忽略这些特征，因此这些模型可能低估或高估了动脉组织中的药物摄取和再分布。我们的研究结果表明，动脉曲率和斑块组成对药物的时空分布具有重要影响，对治疗的有效性具有潜在影响。由于大多数计算模型倾向于忽略这些特征，因此这些模型可能低估或高估了动脉组织中的药物摄取和再分布。我们的研究结果表明，动脉曲率和斑块组成对药物的时空分布具有重要影响，对治疗的有效性具有潜在影响。由于大多数计算模型倾向于忽略这些特征，因此这些模型可能低估或高估了动脉组织中的药物摄取和再分布。