Numerical Simulation of Blood Flow in Thoracic Aorta

Abstract

A numerical method for simulation of blood flow in the thoracic aorta is presented. Patient-specific aorta shapes are used in a centerline-fitted generalized coordinate system in which the Navier—Stokes equation is discretized using finite-difference approximation. The main target of this study is long-term adverse events that occur after endovascular stent—graft treatment. Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), or stent—graft treatment, has become widely accepted as an important option for treatment of thoracic aortic diseases. Many studies have proven the safety and efficacy of TEVAR with satisfactory short-term to mid-term outcomes. Nevertheless, even if the initial TEVAR treatment technically succeeds, some patients show recurrence and progression of diseases many years after treatment. Based on long-term follow-up examinations, such long-term morphological change and effects of hemodynamic flow apparently interact synergically. This study is intended to investigate the constant effect of vascular hemodynamics on the long-term adverse events using computational fluid dynamics based on finite-difference approximation with an immersed boundary/fictitious domain approach.