Computational Fluid Dynamics as an Engineering Tool for the Reconstruction of Endovascular Prosthesis Endoleaks

Abstract

Background and objectives: Endovascular prosthesis placement is a predominant surgical procedure to reduce the risk of aneurysm rupture in abdominal aortic aneurysm patients. The formation of an endoleak is a major complication of stent-graft placement. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the influence of stent-graft's spatial configuration on the risk of leakage under realistic flow conditions. Materials and Methods: We analyzed data collected from 10 male patients 55±3 years old after CTA who had undergone endovascular treatment. Computational Fluid Dynamics technique was applied for the reconstruction of blood hemodynamic. Two cases of the stent-graft were analyzed each time, with and without the endoleak, reconstructed from one patient data with the endoleak. Endoleak-free geometries were prepared by virtual closure of the opening. Results: It was observed that high value of the blood velocity around the endoleak may provoke its slowly rupture, which may increase the blood flow to the aneurysm sack in the case of type II endoleaks. Moreover, the appearance of endoleak reduces the average blood velocity in the entire stent-graft which in some cases may contribute to blood coagulation. Furthermore, no clot can form at the site of the endoleak due to the high value of wall shear stress near of the endoleak which prevents thrombosis.

Reconstruction of the Physiological Behavior of Real and Synthetic Vessels in Controlled Conditions

“…In the realm of medical diagnostics, the integration of various techniques, such as ultrasonography [8], 3D ultrasound [9], 4D ultrasound strain (4D-US) [10], and echocardiography, is gaining popularity [11]. Combining these methods with engineering approaches, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD), has the potential to enhance analyses and contribute to patient diagnosis [12][13][14]. These approaches are commonly employed for predicting therapeutic outcomes in cases of aortic-wall-associated injuries, such as aneurysms or wall ruptures [15].…”

Computational Modeling of Motile Cilia-Driven Cerebrospinal Flow in the Brain Ventricles of Zebrafish Embryo

“…The complex flow geometries can be extracted with the use of image-processing techniques [ 64 ]. Then, the generated geometries are isolated and physically relevant boundary conditions are applied to elucidate the flow patterns in the volume of interest [ 65 ]. The boundary conditions can be determined by measuring the instantaneous inflow velocities by utilizing visualization techniques such as computed tomography [ 66 ] or Doppler ultrasonography [ 67 ].…”