Numerical Simulation System for Blood Flow in the Cerebral Artery Using CT Imaging Data

Abstract

Over 90% of subarachnoid hemorrhages are caused by rupture of a cerebral aneurysm. Medical statistics indicate that cerebral aneurysm occurs predominantly in arteries which branch off with sharp curvature, where flow and wall shear stress change abruptly. In this paper, a system for analysis of flow in the cerebral artery is constructed. In this system, numerical simulation is conducted for geometry, which is extracted from computed tomographic angiography of the cerebral artery. The boundary conditions are modeled from measured data and are prescribed to simulate hemodynamics in the real situation. This system investigates effects of geometry on wall shear stress distribution and the flow pattern in the artery. Wall shear stress was found to be concentrated in specific areas due to effects of curvature.