The coronary vascular system and associated medical devices

Even as recent as several hundred years ago, the 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 technology, the coronary vascular system has been utilized as a therapeutic 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 successfully deliver novel therapies to a variety of cardiac patients.