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Structural and Mechanical Properties of Human Superficial Femoral and Popliteal Arteries

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Abstract

The femoropopliteal artery (FPA) is the main artery in the lower limb. It supplies blood to the leg muscles and undergoes complex deformations during limb flexion. Atherosclerotic disease of the FPA (peripheral arterial disease, PAD) is a major public health burden, and despite advances in surgical and interventional therapies, the clinical outcomes of PAD repairs continue to be suboptimal, particularly in challenging calcified lesions and biomechanically active locations. A better understanding of human FPA mechanical and structural characteristics in relation to age, risk factors, and the severity of vascular disease can help develop more effective and longer-lasting treatments through computational modeling and device optimization. This review aims to summarize recent research on the main biomechanical and structural properties of human superficial femoral and popliteal arteries that comprise the FPA and describe their anatomy, composition, and mechanical behavior under different conditions.

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Fig. 1

Modified from Poulson et al. [2] and Kamenskiy et al. [4]

Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Modified from Jadidi et al. [11]

Fig. 4

Adapted from Desyatova et al. [25]

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health Awards HL125736, HL147128, and P20GM152301. The authors also wish to acknowledge Live On Nebraska for their help and support, and thank donors and their families for making this study possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Biomechanics Research Building, Omaha, NE, 68182, USA

    Ramin Shahbad, Margarita Pipinos, Majid Jadidi, Anastasia Desyatova & Alexey Kamenskiy

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA

    Jennifer Gamache & Jason MacTaggart

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Shahbad, R., Pipinos, M., Jadidi, M. et al. Structural and Mechanical Properties of Human Superficial Femoral and Popliteal Arteries. Ann Biomed Eng 52, 794–815 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-023-03435-3

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