Study on the radial sectional velocity distribution and wall shear stress associated with carotid artery stenosis

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is an important cause of cardiovascular disease. The wall shear stress (WSS) is one of the key factors of plaque formation and dislodgement. Currently, WSS estimation is based on the measurement of the blood velocity gradient. However, due to the lack of flow field measurements in carotid stenosis vessels, the two distribution forms (parabolic and non-parabolic) commonly considered in numerical simulations could cause WSS estimates to differ by more than 40%, which could seriously affect the accuracy of mechanical analysis. This study applied three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to create an experimental model of real-structure carotid arteries. Microparticle image velocimetry was adopted to comprehensively measure blood velocity field data at the stenosis location, providing experimental validation of numerical simulation (Fluent; finite volume method) results. Then, the flow field was simulated at a normal human heart rate (45–120 beats per minute). The radial sectional velocity exhibited a plateau-like distribution with a similar velocity in the central region (more than 65% of the total channel width). This study provides an accurate understanding of the WSS at the carotid stenosis location and proposes a reliable method for the study of flow fields under various blood flow conditions.

Understanding Atherosclerosis Pathophysiology: Can Additive Manufacturing Be Helpful?

“…More recently, Song et al (2022) [ 71 ] created an experimental model of real-structure carotid arteries with stenosis caused by atherosclerotic plaques, applying 3D printing technology. This work aimed to obtain a 3D printed model based on real configuration data to simulate the stenotic blood flow caused by carotid plaques.…”

“…The 3D printed model had a layer thickness of 0.1 mm and was achieved by the SLA technique using a transparent photosensitive resin. The authors concluded that 3D printed models could support the understanding of carotid artery stenosis flow characteristics accurately, and that numerical simulation was a reliable method for studying the blood flow under stenotic conditions [ 71 ].…”

Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering Models for Atherosclerosis Treatment Development

“…Patient-specific imaging data obtained from CT or MRI scans can be used to print a 3D phantom of the diseased vessel. Various groups used this approach to mimic stenosed coronary or carotid arteries and used them to validate their computational fluid dynamic models [155,156].…”