3D-Printed Nitinol Braids Advance Custom Cardiovascular Implants
An international research team designs single-step additive manufacturing for flexible stents that adapt to patient anatomy.
By Giovanni Sapere
2 min readHuman-Edited, AI-Assisted
A research team led by the IMDEA Materials Institute and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid has developed an invention for manufacturing personalized cardiovascular implants using 3D printing and superelastic nitinol. Published in npj Metamaterials, the method enables single-step production of flexible braided structures that compress into delivery catheters without structural failure, as reported by [MedicalXpress](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-3d-method-options-personalized-cardiovascular.html).
The limitations of conventional metallic lattices
Minimally invasive transcatheter devices require implants that can compress into narrow catheters, travel through blood vessels, and fully regain their original shape after deployment. Conventional additive manufacturing for metallic implants relies on rigid lattice networks that depend on strut bending, according to MedicalXpress. These standard geometries become excessively stiff when compressed and face a substantial risk of structural fracture at strains approaching 25%, while exerting elevated outward forces on arterial walls that heighten clinical risks. Co-author Dr. Carlos Aguilar Vega pointed out that traditional fabrication techniques impose geometric constraints that prevent true mechanical personalization.
“Lattice structures manufactured using conventional additive manufacturing techniques are unable to achieve the high degree of reversible deformation required for transcatheter applications,”
— Dr. Carlos Aguilar Vega, IMDEA Materials Institute
Braided nitinol architecture and chemical finishing
To solve the rigidity issue, the researchers, collaborating with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Galway, developed interwoven braided architectures made from nitinol, a shape-memory alloy. Rather than bending rigid struts, the structure absorbs deformation through the sliding and reorientation of interwoven filaments, mimicking textile meshes, as detailed by MedicalXpress. The team applied a combined chemical etching and electropolishing post-treatment to achieve a biomedical-grade surface finish. This surface treatment decreased fiber thickness by 47.7% and cross-sectional area by 71.1%, enabling the finished devices to endure diameter compressions of up to 50% while retaining more than 90% elastic recovery.
Validation, patent protection and neurovascular horizons
The resulting medical device structure produced a chronic outward force up to five times lower than conventional lattices, significantly reducing the hazard of vessel damage and thrombosis, according to MedicalXpress. The patented technique, which received the National James Dyson Award, was validated using single compression-expansion cycles across various geometries, including a customized aortic valve frame prototype derived from patient CT scans, a tapered flow diverter, and a fenestrated bifurcation stent. Next steps include in vitro biocompatibility evaluations and animal studies before human clinical trials, while future research focuses on ultra-high-precision 3D printing to target delicate neurovascular vessels in the brain.
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