Computer modeling of atherosclerosis

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease characterized by inflammation, monocyte-macrophage migration, and lipid accumulation in the vascular wall. The three-dimensional blood flow is governed by the Navier-Stokes equations, together with the continuity equation. Mass transfer within the blood lumen and through the arterial wall is coupled with the blood flow and is modeled by the convection-diffusion equation. LDL transport in lumen of the vessel is described by Kedem-Katchalsky equations. The inflammatory process is solved using three additional reaction-diffusion partial differential equations. We presented basic 2D axisymmetric and 3D benchmark examples. The fitting of parameters for different models is described. Computational results and comparison with animal experiments are presented. Also plaque formation and progression model was applied on the patient data clinical data. Finally, the main conclusions of the work performed are given, with connecting between modeling and experimental work. Matching of plaque location and progression in time between experimental and computer model shows a potential benefit for future prediction of this vascular decease using computer simulation.