Numerical simulation of the fluid structure interactions in a compliant patient-specific arteriovenous fistula : FLUID STRUCTURE INTERACTION SIMULATION IN AN ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULA
There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
The objective of the study is to investigate numerically the fluid-structure interactions
(FSI) in a patient-specific arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and analyze the degree of
complexity that such a numerical simulation requires to provide clinically relevant
information. The reference FSI simulation takes into account the non-Newtonian behavior
of blood, as well as the variation in mechanical properties of the vascular walls
along the AVF. We have explored whether less comprehensive versions of the simulation
could still provide relevant results. The non-Newtonian blood model is necessary to
predict the hemodynamics in the AVF because of the predominance of low shear rates
in the vein. An uncoupled fluid simulation provides informative qualitative maps of
the hemodynamic conditions in the AVF; quantitatively, the hemodynamic parameters
are accurate within 20% maximum. Conversely, an uncoupled structural simulation with
non-uniform wall properties along the vasculature provides the accurate distribution
of internal wall stresses, but only at one instant of time within the cardiac cycle.
The FSI simulation advantageously provides the time-evolution of both the hemodynamic
and structural stresses. However, the higher computational cost renders a clinical
use still difficult in routine.