The Jeweled Scaffold: A Programmable Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent

The Jeweled Scaffold: A Programmable Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent

Collections: Now On Display, Image Award Winners

Award Winner

Erika Wang, Xin Yang, Ke Cheng, Ana Jaklenec, Robert Langer

Koch Institute at MIT

This image shows a 3D-printed heart stent, a tiny tube delivered by catheter to restore blood flow in a blocked coronary artery after a heart attack. Colorful micro-cubes decorate the stent and act like mini pill boxes, each programmed to release drugs at different times. Drug release rates can be controlled by changing the material of the cube, allowing one implant to deliver multiple medicines in sequence to support recovery and regeneration in a smarter, more personalized way.

 

Cylinder shining like white gold and in the lattice orange and blue jewels