Assessing abdominal aorta narrowing using computational fluid dynamics

Non-invasive diagnostics of blockage growth in the descending aorta-computational approach

Atherosclerosis causes blockages to the main arteries such as the aorta preventing blood flow from delivering oxygen to the organs. Non-invasive diagnosis of these blockages is difficult, particularly in primary healthcare. In this paper, the effect of arterial blockage development and growth is investigated at the descending aorta on some possible non-invasive assessment parameters including the blood pressure waveform, wall shear stress (WSS), time-average WSS (TAWSS) and the oscillation shear index (OSI). Blockage severity growth is introduced in a simulation model as 25%, 35%, 50% and 65% stenosis at the descending aorta based on specific healthy control aorta data clinically obtained. A 3D aorta model with invasive pulsatile waveforms (blood flow and pressure) is used in the CFD simulation. Blockage severity is assessed by using blood pressure measurements at the left subclavian artery. An arterial blockage growth more than 35% of the lumen diameter significantly affects the pressure. A strong correlation is also observed between the ascending aorta pressure values, pressure at the left subclavian artery and the relative residence time (RRT). An increase of RRT downstream from the stenosis indicates a 35% stenosis at the descending aorta which results in high systolic and diastolic pressure readings. The findings of this study could be further extended by transferring the waveform reading from the left subclavian artery to the brachial artery.

Graphical abstract

The crosstalk between arterial components and the bioresorbable, 3-D printed poly-l-lactic acid scaffolds

Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) are designed to provide a temporary support that subsequently leaves behind native vessels after their complete degradation. The accumulation of mechanical changes influences the vascular histological characteristics...

Computational Fluid Dynamics of Vascular Disease in Animal Models

Recent applications of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applied to the cardiovascular system have demonstrated its power in investigating the impact of hemodynamics on disease initiation, progression, and treatment outcomes. Flow metrics such as pressure distributions, wall shear stresses (WSS), and blood velocity profiles can be quantified to provide insight into observed pathologies, assist with surgical planning, or even predict disease progression. While numerous studies have performed simulations on clinical human patient data, it often lacks prediagnosis information and can be subject to large intersubject variability, limiting the generalizability of findings. Thus, animal models are often used to identify and manipulate specific factors contributing to vascular disease because they provide a more controlled environment. In this review, we explore the use of CFD in animal models in recent studies to investigate the initiating mechanisms, progression, and intervention effects of various vascular diseases. The first section provides a brief overview of the CFD theory and tools that are commonly used to study blood flow. The following sections are separated by anatomical region, with the abdominal, thoracic, and cerebral areas specifically highlighted. We discuss the associated benefits and obstacles to performing CFD modeling in each location. Finally, we highlight animal CFD studies focusing on common surgical treatments, including arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) and pulmonary artery grafts. The studies included in this review demonstrate the value of combining CFD with animal imaging and should encourage further research to optimize and expand upon these techniques for the study of vascular disease.

SIMULATION ANALYSIS OF BLOOD FLOW IN ARTERIES OF THE HUMAN ARM

Arteries in the upper limb play important roles in the circulation system of the human body. In particular, the radial artery has received considerable attention in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Here, a 3D model for the arm arteries has been created uncomplicated, in a Chinese adult's left hand, from the magnetic resonance imaging data, using professional modeling software to restore the basic structure of the arm artery in human body, before being imported to Ansys software for simulation. Blood model has been only simulated, and using the blood density of constant parameter and viscosity using the Carreau fluid model, and using viscous-laminar model of Fluent to obtain the velocity profile, static pressure and shear stress in the brachial, interosseous, ulnar, radial and palmar arch arteries. In particular, the brachial and bifurcations have the high pressure and velocity profiles. The simulation results obtained here are also validated by those published in the literature and proved the ulnar artery prevails over the radial artery as a blood supplier to the vessels in the wrist and hand.