How to design a structure able to mimic the arterial wall mechanical behavior?

Cardiovascular diseases, particularly arterioscleroses, count among the most frequent and fatal ones in the industrialized countries. Arteriosclerosis is caused by the formation of atheromateous plate constituted by proliferation and deposits of cholesterol in lipidic scratches involving thickening of the intima, which leads to a stenosis. Clinical complications are also related to the possibility of calcification eventually leading to a rupture, cholesterol embolus and ulceration of the thrombotic plate. From a clinical point of view, it is often required to replace the diseased and structurally damaged section of the artery and implant a vascular substitute, made from either synthetic (Teflon or Dacron prosthesis) or biological (autologous graft) materials. These substitutes must conform to several requirements such as hemocompatibility, mechanical reliability and iso-compliance, i.e., graft compliance as similar as possible to that of arteries to ensure their harmonious implantation. This compliance requirement is essential to obtain similar deformation under pressure in the prosthesis and adjacent artery. Failure to obtain acceptable compliance may result in improper anastomosis and mechanical mismatch, which eventually lead to the failure of the implant. Several studies have focused on the compliance of arteries to better understand their behavior.