Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 7 (a) and (b) One of the vertebral arteries (VA1) is occluded by a balloon yet VA2 is patent;
(c) velocity distribution in the arterial tree—note that there is no flow in VA1; (d) blood flow
profiles in VA2—the flow rate in VA2 is higher when VA1 is virtually occluded. Also note that the
profiles follow the inlet pressure boundary condition: the pressure gradient between inlet and
outlets increases over the first 0.1 s, then remains steady over the second 0.1 s. ICA: internal
carotid artery; VA: vertebral artery
The numerical result may have some physiological implications: the vertebral
arteries are the major conduits supplying blood to the posterior brain and sufficient
blood perfusion must be maintained to prevent brain tissue infarction. Therefore,
the lost blood supply due to blockage of VA1 is partially compensated by an
increased flow from VA2. Although no clinical measurement data is collected at
this stage, the flow simulation is consistent with clinical impressions as well as
animal models (e.g., the rat model in [
12
]).
