Information on the most widely used ASTM standards within the materials testing industry
ISO 25539‑1:2017 Cardiovascular implants - Endovascular devices - Part 1: Endovascular prostheses
ISO 25539‑1 applies to endovascular prostheses (stent‑grafts) and their delivery systems. It defines a complete set of mechanical tests covering fatigue, fixation, patency, strength, and dimensional stability. In ISO 25539-1, mechanical testing (bench testing and analytical testing) is a key step to ensure that implants can deploy properly, remain stable over the long term, and avoid damage in complex vascular environments. Below is the details mechanical testing introduction, UnitedTest offer most of the testing equipment required, contact with our engineer today for more details at export@unitedtest.com.
1, Fatigue & Durability Tests
| Test | Test methods and requirement | Test Equipment |
| Radial Fatigue & Durability | Test Method: Cyclic radial deformation simulating cardiac pulsatile pressure; evaluate long‑term radial structural integrity. Test requirement: Run a minimum of 380 million cycles (simulating 10‑year service life). Importance: Prevent fatigue rupture and ensure long‑term structural stability under pulsatile blood pressure. Application: Abdominal/thoracic aortic stent‑grafts. | Radial fatigue tester, 37±2°C constant‑temperature fluid bath. |
| Axial Fatigue & Durability | Test Method: Cyclic axial elongation and shortening to simulate physiological motion. Procedure: Apply cyclic axial displacement → run target cycles → inspect for fracture or separation. Importance: Avoid axial fatigue failure of modular components. Application: Stent‑grafts in mobile anatomy (aorta, iliac arteries). | Axial fatigue tester, 37±2°C environment, |
| Bending Fatigue & Durability | Test Method: Cyclic bending (column buckling, mandrel bending, or arc bending). Sample: Sterilized prosthesis. Procedure: Deploy in mock artery (optional pressurization to prevent lumen flattening) → apply cyclic bending → inspect for kinking or fracture. | Bending fatigue testing machine |
| Torsional Fatigue & Durability | Test Method: Cyclic torsion around the longitudinal axis. Sample: Sterilized prosthesis. Procedure: Fix one end, apply cyclic torsion to the other → inspect for structural damage. Application: Stent‑grafts in torsional vascular environments. | Torsion fatigue tester. |
| Active Fixation Fatigue & Durability | Test Method: Cyclic loading on barbs/hooks/pins to test retention strength. Sample: Prosthesis with active fixation (barbs/hooks). Procedure: Engage fixation in mock artery → apply cyclic load → inspect for fixation fracture or pull‑out. | Fatigue testing machine 37±2°C environment Bath. |
2. Strength Mechanical Tests
| Test | Test methods and requirement | Test Equipment |
| Burst Strength | Test Method: Internal pressurization until graft rupture (per ISO 7198). Sample: Sterilized prosthesis or graft material. Procedure: Seal ends → pressurize → record burst pressure. Importance: Prevent graft rupture and Type IIIb endoleak. | Pressurre testing machine with fixture |
| Seam Strength | Test Method: Tensile test of factory‑made graft seams (ISO 7198). Sample: Graft seam specimens. Procedure: Tension until seam failure → record peak force. | Tensile tester |
| Longitudinal Tensile Strength | Test Method: Axial tension of graft material. Sample: Graft strips. Procedure: Tension until failure → record maximum force. Importance: Prevent tearing during delivery and deployment. | Tensile tester with suitable fixture |
| Graft‑to‑Fixation Connection Strength | Test Method: Tensile pull test between graft and fixation system. Sample: Prosthesis with discrete fixation. Procedure: Pull graft and fixation apart → record force and failure mode. Importance: Prevent graft‑stent separation. Application: Stent‑grafts with separate fixation structures. | Tensile tester with special grips |
| Strength after Repeated Puncture | Test Method: Repeated dialysis needle puncture followed by strength test (ISO 7198). Sample: Vascular‑access prosthesis. Procedure: Repeated cannulation → measure residual strength. Importance: Maintain integrity after repeated dialysis access. Application: Vascular access grafts. | Puncture fixture + tensile tester. |
3. Other Test
| Test | Test methods and requirement | Test equipment |
| Resistance to Kinking (Flexibility) | Test Method: Determine the minimum bending radius without kinking (per ISO 7198). Sample: Full‑length or segmented prosthesis. Procedure: Bend until kink occurs → record minimum radius. Importance: Maintain patency in tortuous vessels. | Kink‑test fixture. |
| Crush / Compression Resistance | Test Method: Apply perpendicular or radial load; measure force at specified deformation. Sample: Balloon‑expandable (crush) / self‑expanding (compression) prosthesis. Procedure: Apply load → measure permanent deformation after unloading. Importance: Prevent external compression leading to lumen obstruction. | Compression tester with flat platens or cylindrical fixtures. |
| Radial Force (Self‑Expanding Prostheses) | Test Method: Measure outward radial force at different diameters. Sample: Sterilized self‑expanding prosthesis. Procedure: Deploy in tester → adjust diameter from min to max clinical range → record force curve. Importance: Ensure sufficient vessel apposition and resist collapse. | Radial force testing machine |
| Migration Resistance | Test Method: Measure the force or pressure required to cause prosthesis migration. Sample: Sterilized prosthesis with minimum anchoring length per IFU. Procedure: Deploy in mock artery → apply axial pull (50–200 mm/min) or pulsatile pressure → record peak force/pressure at migration. | Universal mechanical tester, pressure fixture, mock artery simulating landing zones. |
| Separation Force for Overlapping | Test Method: Measure force to separate overlapped or modular components. Sample: Deployed overlapping prostheses (minimum overlap per IFU). Procedure: Create clinical overlap → apply axial pull → record peak separation force. | Universal mechanical testing equipment |
Related products and device
Related Standard
ASTM F2477 designed to evaluate the long-term fatigue durability and radial cyclic deformation resistance of vascular implants under simulated physiological pulsatile loading conditions. It is crucial for simulating the cyclical stresses these medical devices endure inside human blood vessels.
ASTM F3067 establishes in vitro test frameworks to characterize the radial mechanical performance of balloon-expandable vascular stents and self-expanding vascular stents. It quantifies three key indicators: radial strength and collapse pressure for balloon-expandable stents, and chronic outward force (COF) for self-expanding stents.
ASTM F2606 defines quantitative three-point bending procedures to characterize the bending flexibility and stiffness of balloon-expandable vascular stents and stent systems (pre-deployment and deployed states). It is a critical testing protocol in the biomedical engineering field. Since vascular anatomies are naturally curved and tortuous, a stent must be flexible enough to navigate through the delivery pathway (trackability) and conform to the vessel's curvature once deployed without causing vascular trauma . This standard provides the guidelines to measure these mechanical properties accurately.
ASTM F2942 specifies in vitro test methodologies to evaluate the cyclic durability of vascular stents under non-radial mechanical deformations (axial, bending, and torsion) that occur in vivo due to musculoskeletal motion, breathing, or cardiac activity.
ASTM F2942 specifies in vitro test methodologies to evaluate the cyclic durability of vascular stents under non-radial mechanical deformations (axial, bending, and torsion) that occur in vivo due to musculoskeletal motion, breathing, or cardiac activity. include Axial, bending, torsional, Pulsatile Durability, Radial Loading etc., test.
Based on the ISO/TS 17137 standard the evaluation of mechanical properties is a critical part of the design and safety validation process. Mechanical Evaluation like tension, radial force, Cyclic Fatigue Durability like constant pulsing. Because absorbable implants lose their structural integrity over time through degradation, their mechanical performance must be assessed not just at the time of implantation, but throughout their intended functional lifetime.
ISO 12417-1 specifies requirements for Vascular Device-Drug Combination Products (VDDCPs) (drug-eluting stents, drug-coated balloons, drug-bearing vascular grafts, etc.). It mandates mechanical tests for the device part (DP) (to verify structural/functional integrity) and a suite of drug-related, physicochemical, biological, and clinical tests. Mechanical performance must comply with device-specific standards (ISO 25539-2, ISO 10555-4, ISO 7198) and remain unaffected by the drug-containing part (DCP).
ISO 7198 specifies test and performance requirements for tubular vascular grafts and vascular patches (surgical vascular prostheses). It defines mechanical tests (with full method/equipment/sample details) and other physicochemical, biological, dimensional, preclinical/clinical tests.
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