Patient-Inspired In Vitro and CFD Modeling of Hepatic Intraarterial Microballoon Interventions.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Hepatology

Background:

• Microballoon interventions (MBIs) are used for hepatocellular carcinoma but cause poorly understood blood flow alterations.
• Optimizing tumor targeting in MBIs is crucial for treatment effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop patient-inspired in vitro models (IVM) and in silico models (ISM) to study hemodynamics during MBIs.
• To investigate the impact of microballoon catheters and collateral artery size on tumor targeting.

Main Methods:

• Developed two IVM configurations (with and without collateral arteries) and two catheter modes (microballoon vs. standard).
• Validated the ISM against IVM results and used it to analyze varying collateral artery diameters.

Main Results:

• IVM accurately simulated hemodynamic changes.
• ISM showed a low average difference (4%) in flow distribution compared to experimental data.
• The presence of a collateral artery did not negatively impact the simulated intervention.

Conclusions:

• Patient-inspired IVMs and ISMs provide valuable insights into hemodynamic changes post-MBI.
• These models can aid in determining optimal collateral artery sizes for successful MBIs.
• This approach may improve patient selection for liver cancer treatments.