Hemodynamic Analysis of a Compliant Femoral Artery Bifurcation Model using a Fluid Structure Interaction Framework

Abstract

The influence of wall motion on the hemodynamic characteristics of the human femoral bifurcation and its effects on the development of peripheral artery disease has not been previously investigated. This study aimed in investigating the hemodynamics of a compliant patient-specific femoral artery bifurcation model by a fluid structure interaction (FSI) scheme. The complex physiological geometry of the femoral artery bifurcation was reproduced from sequentially obtained transverse CT scan images. Velocity waveforms derived from phase contrast MR images were extracted and mapped to define boundary conditions. Equations governing blood flow and wall motion were solved using an FSI framework that utilizes commercial codes: FLUENT for computational fluid dynamics and ANSYS for computational structural dynamics. The results showed that wall compliance decreased flow velocities at the relatively high curvature geometries including common and superficial femoral artery (SFA), and it created strong recirculation in the profunda femoris artery close to the bifurcation. In the SFA region near the apex, time averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) differences up to 25% between compliant and rigid models were observed. The compliant model also exhibited lower TAWSS and oscillatory shear at the superior section of the common femoral artery close to the bifurcation. The presence of wall motion, however, created minor differences in the general flow-field characteristics. We conclude that wall motion does not have significant influence on the global fluid dynamic characteristics of the femoral artery bifurcation. Longer arterial segments need to be simulated to see the effect of wall motion on tortuousity which was previously cited as an important factor in the development of atherosclerosis at the femoral artery.

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Investigation of Pulsatile Flowfield in Healthy Thoracic Aorta Models

“…The blood vessel analysis also necessitates further consideration of low wall shear stress (WSS), oscillating WSS, and WSS gradient to achieve a better understanding of the exact relationship between atheroma deposition and WSS. 1,19,41 For example, it was found that the oscillating WSS significantly influenced the growth of the aortic aneurysm.…”

Magnetic resonance imaging-based computational modelling of blood flow and nanomedicine deposition in patients with peripheral arterial disease

“…This simplifying assumption can lead to an overestimation of local WSS [69], especially when there is significant vessel curvature or a bifurcation. However, as demonstrated by Kim et al [70] in a previous study on a compliant SFA with bifurcation, bulk flow quantities are generally insensitive to wall motion. While minor changes (less than 25%) in the OSI and TAWSS were reported in select areas like bifurcations, it was concluded that wall compliance did not significantly influence these quantities [70].…”