Development of patient individual endovascular vascular prostheses: Dr. Rusche research project 2018

In 2018 the Dr. Rusche project funding was awarded to a project for the production of patient-specific minimally invasive vascular prostheses. It is known that conventional vascular prostheses can cause a variety of complications (e. g. endoleaks or prosthesis migration) if a patient-prosthesis mismatch is present. Therefore, the aim of the funded project is to improve the fitting accuracy of vascular prostheses through an individualized approach in order to reduce the complication rate of this type of therapy. To achieve this, digital prosthesis models are first generated on the basis of individual tomographic data. Further steps include the 3D printing process of specific prosthesis models and the production of the individualized prostheses using the electrospinning technique. By integrating a nitinol skeleton, the prostheses can additionally be equipped with the required stability and radial force. Finally, the prostheses are evaluated with respect to their biocompatibility, mechanical properties and their individual functionality.