Exploring the effect of arterial geometry in a realistic 3D coronary arterial model

The interaction of blood flow with the arterial walls is one of the key factors that generate atheroma on the arterial walls, thus making the modeling of this certain procedure of critical importance. In the current work, we employ a 3-dimensional (3D) patient-specific stenosed coronary arterial model, reconstructed from Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) and biplane angiography images. The three stenoses of the artery are virtually treated, one at a time, thus generating three additional pairs of 3D models (lumen and wall). All cases are discretized into finite elements and pulsatile blood flow simulations are carried out, obtaining results on Wall Shear Stress (WSS) distribution, Average WSS, maximum values of WSS as well as areas of WSS ranging from 0 to 2 Pa. The obtained results exhibit higher average WSS values for the untreated case compared to the treated ones, whereas the treated regions of the three treated cases produce low values of WSS during the cardiac cycle implying a normalization of blood flow as well as a risk of future restenosis in these particular regions.