Numerical investigation of mechanical interaction of cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a fluid that circulates throughout the central nervous system. It is located between the brain and skull and protects the brain and spinal cord from trauma brought upon by movement, falls, blows, etc. More importantly, many of neurological diseases have direct contact with cerebrospinal fluid hydrodynamics and ventricular pressure. Therefore, understanding of the CSF hydrodynamics and ventricular pressure can be very useful for understanding of the pathologic processes and treatment of these diseases. In this study we intend to use a three-dimensional finite element analysis to simulate and investigate this process. For this purpose a fluid-structure interaction analysis of Ansys 12 software has been used. Brain shape modeling was performed using MRI photos in CATIA software.