Reconstruction of blood flow patterns in a human carotid bifurcation: a combined CFD and MRI study

The carotid bifurcation is a common site for clinically significant atherosclerosis, and the development of this disease may be influenced by the local hemodynamic environment. It has been shown that vessel geometry and pulsatile flow conditions are the predominant factors that determine the detailed blood flow patterns at the carotid bifurcation. This study was initiated to quantify the velocity profiles and wall shear stress (WSS) distributions in an anatomically true model of the human carotid bifurcation using data acquired from magnetic resonance (MR) imaging scans of an individual subject. A numerical simulation approach combining the image processing and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques was developed. Individual vascular anatomy and pulsatile flow conditions were all incorporated into the computer model. It was found that the geometry of the carotid bifurcation was highly complex, involving helical curvature and out-of-plane branching. These geometrical features resulted in patterns of flow and wall shear stress significantly different from those found in simplified planar carotid bifurcation models. Comparisons between the predicted flow patterns and MR measurement demonstrated good quantitative agreement.