Structure-property relationships in angioplasty balloons [electronic resource]

by Garramone, Samantha.

Balloon angioplasty, used to clear clogged blood vessels, is the most common medical intervention in the world. In an effort to improve on an angioplasty balloon currently on the market, extruded tubes were designed that were comprised of different numbers of layers of an 80/20 ratio of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to a thermoplastic elastomer. Balloons were fabricated from these tubes, and tested for burst strength, puncture resistance, and compliance. Lastly, these properties were correlated to the material configuration of the balloons. It was found that, although the burst strength and compliance of the balloons was not significantly effected, increasing the number of layers while keeping the ratio of materials constant lead to a linear increase in the puncture resistance and toughness of the balloons. This is important because it shows that one of the angioplasty balloons currently sold can be improved simply by changing the configuration of the materials, instead of having to research new medical grade polymers and how to process them. 2