The Future of Drug-Eluting Stents Part II: Biodegradable Platforms

The safety profile of drug eluting stents appears to be improving with second and third-generation designs that utilize thinner struts (which are believed to reduce vessel injury and turbulent blood flow) and minimize or eliminate the polymer coating. However, many researchers in this field believe the future of stenting will be defined by completely biodegradable stents that do their job of propping open the vessel until healing occurs, and gradually degrade over a period of months or years, leaving nothing permanently behind in the vessel.