Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been largely used in understanding the haemodynamics of the carotid bifurcation system and to visualise the blood flow changes due to the carotid artery geometric variations. Such studies will be helpful in understanding the arterial blood flow behavior and atherosclerosis. The present study focuses on investigation of geometric variable patient-specific healthy carotid bifurcation system under physiological pressure conditions. Unsteady flow simulation is conducted in ANSYS Fluent under the rigid wall and non-Newtonian conditions. The haemodynamic parameters such as pressure, velocity, vorticity, helicity, and time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) were evaluated to visualise and understand flow dynamics at critical zones of bifurcation system. Further, the importance of geometric influence on the bifurcation zone was also investigated, causing significant vortex formation zones. A considerable reduction in velocity and backflow formation was observed, which is responsible for reducing the shear stress. It is also demonstrated that low TAWSS regions surrounding the bifurcation zone are more prone to atherosclerosis development.
The carotid artery is one of the major arteries in the circulatory system which supplies blood to brain, face and neck region of the body. Among the population geometry of carotid artery will be varying based on the ethnicity, height and gender. The Common Carotid Artery (CCA) will be branching into Internal Carotid Artery (ICA) supplies blood to brain and External Carotid Artery (ECA) supplies blood to neck and face. Near the bifurcation towards ICA there will be a expanded region called carotid bulb or sinus, this is the region where most likely stenosis occurs. The Carotid Artery Stenting (CAS) is a minimally invasive alternative for carotid endarterectomy, but the downside is post-stenting complications like late thrombosis and restenosis. The impact of Carotid Artery Stenting (CAS) can be determined using quantitative assessment, which involves understanding the long-term outcomes of CAS, which are clinically debatable. Haemodynamic parameters related to the flow of blood in stented vessels influence post-stenting complications, so studying the blood flow in post-stenting geometry of the Carotid artery is essential. This study compares the blood flow in Pre and Post stenting geometry of 3 patient specific stenosed carotid arteries, for Post stenting geometry two types of stent designs (Open cell and Closed cell) are considered. The following geometries are analyzed using a pulsatile velocity inlet and pressure outlet boundary conditions. From the comparison of haemodynamic factors, the performance of different stent designs used for different geometry shapes of the stenosed carotid artery can be determined. The lower value of Wall Shear Stress (WSS) was observed near the carotid bulb region, which indicates the chances of restenosis. A higher value of the Oscillatory Shear Index (OSI) was also observed in the posterior part of the Internal and External carotid artery. The outcome of the blood flow analysis implies that, closed-cell stent design can be preferred for stenosed carotid artery having a straight shape, and an open-cell stent design can be used for the tortuous-shaped carotid artery.
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