Local blood flow patterns in stented coronary bifurcations: an experimental and numerical study

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular research
• Biomedical engineering
• Fluid dynamics

Background:

• Coronary bifurcations present an atheroprone environment.
• Limited quantitative hemodynamic data exists for stented bifurcations.
• Previous studies relied on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) without experimental validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively analyze hemodynamics in coronary bifurcations before and after stenting.
• To compare CFD results with experimental data (digital particle image velocimetry - DPIV).
• To investigate the impact of bifurcation angles and stenting strategies on flow patterns.

Main Methods:

• Utilized CAD models and finite element simulations for geometries.
• Performed digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) in compliant bifurcating models.
• Conducted uncertainty analysis for CFD validation.

Main Results:

• Qualitative agreement between CFD and DPIV in bulk flow patterns.
• CFD velocities fell outside DPIV uncertainty estimates due to modeling differences.
• Wider angles and double-stenting increased low flow and recirculation zones.

Conclusions:

• Wider bifurcation angles and double-stenting lead to unfavorable hemodynamic conditions.
• Double-stenting resulted in inferior performance regarding viscous and wall shear stresses.
• CFD and DPIV provide complementary insights into coronary bifurcation hemodynamics.