A decade of modelling drug release from arterial stents.

Drug-eluting stents have revolutionised the treatment of coronary artery disease. These small medical devices have attracted much interest over the past decade from biologists, clinicians, engineers and mathematicians alike. This article provides a comprehensive review of the modelling of drug release from arterial stents and the subsequent drug transport through arterial tissue, and acts as a useful reference equally for those who are already involved in drug-eluting stents research and for those who are starting out in the field. Assembled in this review are the main models of drug release and arterial drug transport that have been published in the literature to date. Many of the models presented in this paper have evolved from drug transport models in other applications. Furthermore, the ideas presented in this review may also be extended to other drug-delivery applications, such as drug coated balloons, transdermal patches and therapeutic contact lenses.