Treatment methods

A method of treating a subject with diabetic atherosclerosis, the method comprising placing a stent in a blood vessel of the subject, the stent having a centre line which curves in three dimensions to promote the supply of oxygen from the blood flowing in the lumen of the stented vessel to the vessel wall.

A method of treating hypoxia in tissue of a blood vessel in which a stent is already disposed, the method comprising placing an expandable member in a collapsed condition thereof radially inwardly of the stent in the vessel, and expanding the expandable member from the collapsed condition to an expanded condition in which the expandable member has a centre line which curves in three dimensions, so as to cause the stent to adopt a shape in which it also has a centre line which curves in three dimensions.

A method of treating a subject for whom blood vessel stenting is indicated, the method comprising placing a drug eluting stent in the vessel, the stent having a centre line which curves in three dimensions.

A method of treating a subject for whom blood vessel stenting is indicated, wherein the vessel is a main vessel and a branch vessel extends from the main vessel, the method comprising placing the stent in the main vessel so that at least a portion of the stent extends in the main vessel upstream of the branch vessel, and the stent having a centre line which curves in three dimensions.

A method of treating a blood vessel branching from another vessel having a stent therein with at least a portion of the stent being upstream of the branch vessel, the method comprising placing an expandable member in a collapsed condition thereof radially inwardly of the stent in the vessel, and expanding the expandable member from the collapsed condition to an expanded condition in which the expandable member has a centre line which curves in three dimensions, so as to cause the stent to adopt a shape in which it also has a centre line which curves in three dimensions.

A drug eluting stent having a centre line which curves in three dimensions.

A method of treating a subject for whom blood vessel stenting is indicated, comprising identifying a treatment site, determining whether natural vessel geometry at that treatment site will impart right-handed swirl flow or left-handed swirl flow to the blood flow along the vessel, and selecting for placement at the treatment site a stent having a centre line with three-dimensional curvature, the selected stent having right-handed curvature if the vessel has been determined to naturally impart right handed swirl flow and the selected stent having left-handed curvature if the vessel has been determined to naturally impart left-handed swirl flow.

Apparatus comprising a plurality of stents each having a centre line curving in three dimensions, the plurality of stents including at least one stent with a centre line having right-handed curvature and at least one stent with a centre line having left-handed curvature.