An integrated parameterized tool for designing a customized tracheal stent

The design of customized biomedical devices is certainly relevant nowadays, and to achieve higher implantation accuracy, custom-made implants need to be developed. The aim of this work is to present an integrated tool for the design of a tracheal stent to meet the most important requirements or needs of physicians, hospital administrators and patients. The methodology is based on the synergy between several methods such as attribute listing, quality function deployment (QFD), and the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), for solving physical contradictions related to geometry and material. The result is a stent shape approved by physicians. Moreover, a parameterization tool was used to modify the stent's general dimensions to fit a specific patient. Lastly, the final conceptual design was printed using an additive manufacturing technology known as Fab@Home. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.