A patient-specific computational model of fluid-structure interaction in abdominal aortic aneurysms

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture risk assessment is crucial.
• Current AAA wall stress models often neglect fluid-dynamic effects.
• Understanding AAA wall stress requires considering blood, wall, and thrombus interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a method for generating patient-specific hexahedral finite element meshes for AAA lumen and wall.
• To facilitate the incorporation of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) in AAA wall stress assessment.
• To enable comprehensive simulations of AAA biomechanics.

Main Methods:

• Developed a flexible, semi-automated approach for generating patient-specific hexahedral meshes.
• Meshes feature predefined element distributions for AAA lumen and wall.
• Utilized combined fluid/solid meshes for integrated simulations.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the applicability of the meshes through simulations.
• Simulated wall stress, blood velocity, and wall shear stress in a characteristic AAA.
• The method allows for coupled simulations of AAA blood dynamics and wall mechanics.

Conclusions:

• The presented meshing method supports patient-specific AAA analysis.
• This approach enables the study of fluid-structure interaction in AAAs.
• Further clinical validation is needed to integrate these findings into AAA rupture risk prediction and clinical trials.