Computational Modeling of Thrombus Formation in A Simple Artery Model
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Date
2017-05-05
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Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
The present study focuses on the numerical investigation of thrombus formation in a modeled artery, and in particular, on the validation of a coupled chemo-fluidic computational model for thrombus formation via comparison with the experimental results. In a series of simulations, a backward-facing step (BFS) in a circular pipe, which models an abnormal vessel, is adopted to generate a flow with large-scale separation, which creates conditions for thrombus formation. The modeled thrombus formation process - coagulation cascade and platelet aggregation are solved together with the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for the blood flow dynamics, in which the blood is treated as a Newtonian fluid. The simulation set up matches the experiment reported in the literature and the simulation results are compared to the experimental ones. Metrics associated with the thrombus formation such as the concentration of tissue factor, thrombin, activated platelets, and fibrin as well as the residence time, are quantified. Moreover, based on the difference between the results from the simulations and the experimental data, several undetermined parameters controlling platelet activation and adhesion are explored. In this study, the chemo-fluidic computational model is extended by including the effects of thrombus on the flow and thus the flow and thrombus dynamics are modeled in a two-way coupled manner. The results of this two-way coupling are also discussed.
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Computational model, Thrombosis, blood clot