Artery Research

Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2014, Pages 57 - 65

Quantification of arterial wall inhomogeneity size, distribution, and modulus contrast using FSI numerical pulse wave propagation

Authors
Danial Shahmirzadia, c, Elisa E. Konofagoua, b, *
aDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
bDepartment of Radiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
c

Present address: Mechanical Engineering Department at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.

*Corresponding author. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. E-mail address: ek2191@columbia.edu (E.E. Konofagou).
Corresponding Author
Elisa E. Konofagou
Received 11 November 2013, Revised 22 December 2013, Accepted 27 January 2014, Available Online 1 March 2014.
DOI
10.1016/j.artres.2014.01.006How to use a DOI?
Keywords
FSI simulations; Aortic wall inhomogeneities; Pulse wave velocity (PWV); Pulse wave imaging (PWI)
Abstract

Changes in aortic wall material properties, such as stiffness, have been shown to accompany onset and progression of various cardiovascular pathologies. Pulse Wave velocity (PWV) and propagation along the aortic wall have been shown to depend on the wall stiffness (i.e. stiffer the wall, higher the PWV), and can potentially enhance the noninvasive diagnostic techniques. Conventional clinical methods involve a global examination of the pulse traveling between femoral and carotid arteries, to provide an average PWV estimate. Such methods may not prove effective in detecting focal wall changes as entailed by a range of cardiovascular diseases. A two-way-coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulation study of pulse wave propagation along inhomogeneous aortas with focal stiffening and softening has previously proved the model reliable. In this study, simulations are performed in inhomogeneous aortic walls with hard inclusions of different numbers, size and modulus in order to further characterize the effects of focal hardening on pulse wave propagation. Spatio-temporal maps of the wall displacement were used to analyze the regional pulse wave propagations and velocities. The findings showed that the quantitative markers – such as PWVs and r2s on the pre-inclusion forward, reflected and post-inclusion waves, and the width of the standing wave – as well as qualitative markers – such as diffracted reflection zone versus single reflection wave – allow the successful and reliable distinction between the changes in inclusion numbers, size and modulus. Future studies are needed to incorporate the wall softening and physiologically-relevant wall inhomogeneities such as those seen in calcifications or aneurysms.

Copyright
© 2014 Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

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Journal
Artery Research
Volume-Issue
8 - 2
Pages
57 - 65
Publication Date
2014/03/01
ISSN (Online)
1876-4401
ISSN (Print)
1872-9312
DOI
10.1016/j.artres.2014.01.006How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2014 Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Danial Shahmirzadi
AU  - Elisa E. Konofagou
PY  - 2014
DA  - 2014/03/01
TI  - Quantification of arterial wall inhomogeneity size, distribution, and modulus contrast using FSI numerical pulse wave propagation
JO  - Artery Research
SP  - 57
EP  - 65
VL  - 8
IS  - 2
SN  - 1876-4401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2014.01.006
DO  - 10.1016/j.artres.2014.01.006
ID  - Shahmirzadi2014
ER  -