Related Experiment Videos
Flow dynamics in expansions characterizing abdominal aorta aneurysms.
John A Ekaterinaris1, Christos V Ioannou, Asterios N Katsamouris
1Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Heraklion, Greece.
Annals of Vascular Surgery
|June 17, 2006
Summary
High wall shear stress in abdominal aorta aneurysms (AAAs) drives degeneration and rupture. Computational fluid dynamics reveal recirculating blood flow contributes to AAA growth and intraluminal thrombi formation.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Fluid Dynamics
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Abdominal aorta aneurysms (AAAs) are life-threatening vascular diseases.
- Hemodynamic forces are implicated in AAA pathogenesis but require detailed quantification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To computationally identify and quantify hemodynamic factors influencing AAA generation, proliferation, and rupture.
- To investigate the roles of steady laminar and turbulent blood flow in AAA development.
Main Methods:
- Incompressible Navier-Stokes equations used to compute steady laminar and turbulent flow fields in AAA models.
- Analysis of flow in both symmetric and asymmetric AAA geometries.
- Parametric studies for symmetric AAAs and high flow rate simulations for asymmetric AAAs.
Main Results:
- Recirculating flow regions identified in all AAA models, associated with increased wall shear stress.
- Turbulent flow simulations showed diminished recirculation but higher wall shear stress compared to laminar flow.
- Minor pressure variations suggest arterial wall properties are key in early AAA development.
Conclusions:
- Elevated wall shear stress is a critical hemodynamic factor in AAA wall degeneration and rupture.
- Recirculating flow patterns may explain intraluminal thrombi formation in AAAs.
- Flow complexity in asymmetric AAAs correlates with observed asymmetric thrombi distribution.