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Computational investigation of blood flow and flow-mediated transport in arterial thrombus neighborhood

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Abstract

A pathologically formed blood clot or thrombus is central to major cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke. Detailed quantitative evaluation of flow and flow-mediated transport processes in the thrombus neighborhood within large artery hemodynamics is crucial for understanding disease progression and assessing treatment efficacy. This, however, remains a challenging task owing to the complexity of pulsatile viscous flow interactions with arbitrary shape and heterogeneous microstructure of realistic thrombi. Here, we address this challenge by conducting a systematic parametric simulation-based study on characterizing unsteady hemodynamics and flow-mediated transport in the neighborhood of an arterial thrombus. We use a hybrid particle—continuum-based finite element approach to handle arbitrary thrombus shape and microstructural variations. Results from a cohort of 50 different unsteady flow scenarios are presented, including unsteady vortical structures, pressure gradient across the thrombus boundary, finite time Lyapunov exponents, and dynamic coherent structures that organize advective transport. We clearly illustrate the combined influence of three key parameters—thrombus shape, microstructure, and extent of wall disease—in terms of: (a) determining hemodynamic features in the thrombus neighborhood and (b) governing the balance between advection, permeation, and diffusion to regulate transport processes in the thrombus neighborhood.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by the American Heart Association (Award: 16POST27500023) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (Award: 1016360). This work utilized resources from the University of Colorado Boulder Research Computing Group, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (Awards ACI-1532235 and ACI-1532236), the University of Colorado Boulder, and Colorado State University. The Authors also gratefully acknowledge guidance, support, and the many valuable discussions with Prof. Scott L. Diamond, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania. These fruitful discussions strongly benefited the study design and interpretation of results. CT performed the flow simulations, data analysis, and contributed toward manuscript content. ZI performed Lagrangian computations and data analysis. DM developed the numerical methods and computer libraries, designed the study, and wrote the manuscript. SCS contributed key inputs to finalize study design, and simulation data analysis and interpretation. All authors reviewed the manuscript and agreed to the final version.

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, United States of America

    Chayut Teeraratkul, Zachariah Irwin & Debanjan Mukherjee

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, United States of America

    Shawn C. Shadden

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  1. Chayut Teeraratkul
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Correspondence to Debanjan Mukherjee.

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Teeraratkul, C., Irwin, Z., Shadden, S.C. et al. Computational investigation of blood flow and flow-mediated transport in arterial thrombus neighborhood. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 20, 701–715 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-020-01411-7

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