TOWARDS THE ‘IN VIVO ’ COMPUTATIONAL MULTI-SCALE HEMODYNAMICS FROM ENDOTHELIAL CELL TO LARGE ARTERY

Abstract. A prototype, multi-scale, computational hemodynamic model is presented. Applications to aortic arch, carotid artery, renal artery and so forth, has demonstrated its feasibility in medical applications of the computation-based diagnosis and surgery; and with this novel multi-scale computational method in hemodynamics the noninvasive simulation of cardiovascular blood flow would become possible. We have recently developed a multi-scale, computational method that is able to predict blood flow and pressure in the systematic arteries at any position along the vessels, to compute local flow patterns as well as wall shear stresses at any point in any vessel or organ, and further to predict the behavior of the endothelial cells subjected to the local wall shear stress. A one-dimensional model is established on a basis of the axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations for flow and pressure propagation in compliant and tapering vessels. The three-dimensional model is utilized for specific vessel or organ, which is an in-house solver for the full Navier-Stokes equations and is embedded into the one-dimensional network model for the systematic arteries. 1