Towards a Neointimal Hyperplasia model in In-Stent Restenosis with Cellular Potts Model

Abstract:

Angioplasty is a minimal invasive surgical intervention in treating atherosclerosis, a condition in which the artery wall thickens. A balloon is introduced in the artery and inflated at the site of the
narrowed lumen. A stent may be also introduced in order to provide extra support and prevent elastic recoil of the vessel. A stent is a metal mesh tube which expands and pushes itself to the wall of the
vessel causing injury. In-stent restenosis (the reappearance of stenosis) is related to the abnormal healing reaction of an injured artery after placing a stent and is mostly the result of vascular
smooth muscle cells migration in the intima and proliferation (neointimal hyperplasia).The mechanisms triggering this response are not fully understood.

My master thesis investigates the possibility of developing a more realistic cell-based model of neointimal hyperplasia using Cellular Potts Model. In particular I will discuss the modeling of the vessel
wall,the injury and some hypotheses about the phenotype change and migration of the cells and I will present some preliminary results.