Computational vascular fluid-structure interaction: methodology and application to cerebral aneurysms

Abstract

A computational vascular fluid-structure interaction framework for the simulation of patient-specific cerebral aneurysm configurations is presented. A new approach for the computation of the blood vessel tissue prestress is also described. Simulations of four patient-specific models are carried out, and quantities of hemodynamic interest such as wall shear stress and wall tension are studied to examine the relevance of fluid-structure interaction modeling when compared to the rigid arterial wall assumption. We demonstrate that flexible wall modeling plays an important role in accurate prediction of patient-specific hemodynamics. Discussion of the clinical relevance of our methods and results is provided.