Identification of DVT diseases using numerical simulations

Abstract

This research provides useful insights for better diagnosis and understanding the vein blockage induced by a deep venous thrombosis and the occurrence of reverse flow in human veins, allowing a proper detection of serious diseases related to deep venous insufficiency. An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation is used in a coupled model (i.e. fluid and structure equations solved together), considering two domains, specifically the blood flow and the flexible structures (i.e. vein and valves). Computational fluid dynamics mathematical model based on finite element method, with special elements and boundary characterization, is addressed to find the best solution. This research presents a novel model to study the interaction between non-Newtonian laminar fluid flows, the blood, within nonlinear structures, the vein walls. Simulation results are validated using in vivo echo-Doppler measurements.

The role of valve stiffness in the insurgence of deep vein thrombosis

“…Despite their role in venous thrombosis, flow patterns around the valves have been scarcely investigated in part due to lack of an appropriate in vitro model that would recapitulate valves in a real vein. More recently, numerical simulations have paved the way for valve models [15][16][17][18] . However, there is a distinct lack of experimental validation.…”

One-Dimensional Fluid–Structure Interaction Models in Pressurized Fluid-Filled Pipes: A Review

“…More specific to blood flow diseases diagnoses, Ref. [188] also used CFD tools, including FSI, for modelling a vein blockage induced by a deep venous thrombosis and the occurrence of reverse flow in human veins.…”

Using Discrete Multi-Physics for studying the dynamics of emboli in flexible venous valves

“…The literature provides a wide range of publications about venous and arterial thrombosis, but the majority of these studies focuses on thrombogenesis and clotting [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], rather than the dynamics of the embolus.…”

“…To circumvent the current limitations of in-vivo and in-vitro models, computer simulations (in-silico modelling) of the the venous valve have been carried out but, with a few exceptions [13,15,16], emboli are not accounted for. For DVT however, this represents a serious limitation since the presence of the embolus changes considerably the hydrodynamics around the valve.…”

“…Only Simão et Al. [13] consider the presence of solid particles in the venous valve, but these are simple Lagrangian point particles and the flow, therefore, is not fully resolved around them.…”