Quantifying the influence of oscillatory flow disturbances on blood flow

Pulsatile blood flow is renowned for inducing localised flow disturbances that are characterised by significant oscillations. These flow disturbances are recognised to have a physiologic significance within the cardiovascular system, particularly with respect to their proatherogenic expression on endothelial cells. Flow disturbances also impart significant influence on the mechanics of cardiovascular flow and are formally shown in the present study to be coupled to the period-average behaviour of a pulsatile flow field, causing it to be misrepresented by its steady-equivalent; which is often used in models of atherogenesis and hence limits their reliability. It is demonstrated that a measure of the localised influence of flow disturbances on the period-average flow can be realised by the relative significance of their kinetic energy, which is quantified by the introduced Oscillatory Kinetic Energy Index (OKEI). A specific measure of direction-reversing oscillations is also developed with the introduction of the Oscillatory Flow Index (OFI), which is an extension of the wall-bound Oscillatory Shear Index (OSI) onto flow and wall spaces. A case study of a human carotid artery is made; wherein pulsatile flow is studied relative to its steady-equivalent state. The introduced indices are demonstrated to collectively identify oscillatory flow disturbances within the flow; quantifying their spatial distribution and influence on the flow field.