Development of an in vitro porcine aorta model to study the stability of stent grafts in motor vehicle accidents.

Endovascular stent grafts for the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms have become increasingly utilized and yet their locational stability in moderate chest trauma is unknown. A high speed impact system was developed to study the stability of aortic endovascular stent grafts in vitro. A straight segment of porcine descending aorta with stent graft was constrained in a custom-made transparent urethane casing. The specimen was tested in a novel impact system at an anterior inclination of 45 deg and an average deceleration of 55 G, which represented a frontal automobile crash. Due to the shock of the impact, which was shown to be below the threshold of aortic injury, the stent graft moved 0.6 mm longitudinally. This result was repeatable. The presented experimental model may be helpful in developing future grafts to withstand moderate shocks experienced in motor vehicle accidents or other dynamic loadings of the chest.