1D model for propagation of pulse wave in an arterial network: Comparative study of theory and experiment

Pulse wave evaluation is an effective method for arteriosclerosis screening. In a previous study, we verified that pulse waveforms change markedly due to the arterial stiffness. However, the pulse wave consists of two components, incident wave and multi-reflected waves. Clarification of the complicated propagation of these waves is necessary to gain an understanding of the nature of pulse waves in vivo. In this study, we build a 1D numerical simulation model of pulse wave propagating in distensible tubes. To evaluate the applicability of the model, theoretical estimations were compared with experimental results. Experiments: Two basic distensible tubes, a straight tube and a single bifurcation tube, and a simple arterial network with four bifurcations were constructed. A pulse flow was input into these models using a controlled pump and then pressure waves and flow velocity were measured. Modelization: A 1D governing equations were formulated from the Navier-Stokes equations and continuity equation. Under the same configuration as for experiments, the governing equations were computed using MacCormack scheme. Consequently, theoretical waves of each case fit with experimental ones. The sum of squared differences between the theoretical and experimental waves for each case was less than 10%. This proves the usefulness of our modelization for understanding the phenomenon of pulse propagation in the human arterial network.