The coronary vascular system and associated medical devices

Abstract

Even as recent as several hundred years ago, the general function of the coronary vascular system was largely unknown. Today, it is well established that the coronary system is a highly variable network of both arteries supplying and veins draining the myocardium of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, respectively. Due to recent advances in therapeutic technologies, the coronary vascular system has been utilized as a conduit in a variety of biomedical applications, e.g., cardiac resynchronization therapy. Additionally, symptomatic diseases such as coronary artery disease can be alleviated with stenting or coronary artery bypass grafts. It is well accepted that a comprehensive understanding of the geometric anatomical characteristics of the coronary system will allow for future medical devices to be engineered to more successfully deliver novel therapies to a greater variety of cardiac patients.