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A new open‐source solver for early detection of atherosclerosis based on hemodynamics and LDL transport simulation

Jorge Molina Orcid Logo, Daniel Obaid Orcid Logo, Adesola Ademiloye Orcid Logo

Engineering Reports

Swansea University Authors: Daniel Obaid Orcid Logo, Adesola Ademiloye Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1002/eng2.12955

Abstract

This paper presents a new open-source solver within the OpenFOAM framework, to provide a cost-free alternativeto commercial software for simulating blood flows and the transport of low-density lipoproteins(LDL) in arteries. The proposed algorithm utilizes the velocity field obtained from the hemodyn...

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Published in: Engineering Reports
ISSN: 2577-8196 2577-8196
Published: Wiley 2024
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66728
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Abstract: This paper presents a new open-source solver within the OpenFOAM framework, to provide a cost-free alternativeto commercial software for simulating blood flows and the transport of low-density lipoproteins(LDL) in arteries. The proposed algorithm utilizes the velocity field obtained from the hemodynamicscomputation to solve an advection-diffusion equation governing a passive scalar variable, that representsthe cholesterol concentration in blood. Moreover, two customized boundary conditions, namely periodicpulsatile inflow and LDL blood-to-wall transfer law, as well as a non-Newtonian viscosity model, areincluded in the code to achieve more realistic results. The solver is first validated by reproducing twobenchmark tests, the classical lid-driven cavity experiment including heat transport, and a constrictedtube simulating a stenosed artery. The results obtained were in good agreement with existing literatureand experimental measurements, thus confirming the accuracy and robustness of the proposed opensourcesolver. Finally, hemodynamics and LDL transport are computed in two arteries, one of themobtained by segmentation from an anonymized clinical patient. Stress and LDL concentration at thevessel’s wall are employed to calculate significant descriptors revealing dangerous areas where atheroscleroticplaques could emerge. In the studied cases, the main branch of the artery, and especially thevicinity of the bifurcation, seem to be candidates to develop the illness. This conclusion is in line withmedical in-vivo studies evincing that bifurcations are an usual place where plaques grow.
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: This research was supported by the Grant #PID2020- 115778GB-I00 funded by CIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. A.S. Ademiloye expresses gratitude to the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) for the Innovation Award.

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