Analysis of blood flow and drug concentration distribution in tumor-affected cerebral artery tissue region

Advisors: Pradip Majumdar.Committee members: Amartya Chakrabarti; John Shelton.Includes bibliographical references.Includes illustrations.Brain tumors occur in the brain with the growth of abnormal cells. Despite the advancements in medical technologies and treatments, the complex geometry of the brain impedes the treatment of tumors in brain. A promising and efficient drug targeting to the diseased regions with the limited dosage input reduces the risk of potential damage of healthy tissue cells in the vicinity of tumor. Insertion of drug particles into the blood stream through intravenous administration is one of the efficient treatment methods which is gaining importance. Currently, extensive research is being conducted in the areas of treating brain tumors effectively with direct administration of drug through blood. In this study a three-dimensional computational simulation model of the artery capillary network with cerebral part is developed and reconstructed using multiple CT and MRI scan images of a tumor affected patient. The simulation model includes solution of governing equations of blood flow dynamics based on Navier-Stokes equations and mass species transport based on Lagrangian particle flow dynamics in the artery network and capillaries of the adjacent tissue-tumor regions subjected to typical cardiac cycle. Computational analysis is performed to evaluate and analyze the blood flow and drug particle distributions around the targeted region with varying concentrations. The main objective of this study is to evaluate and optimize the effectiveness of the drug delivery to the internal targeted tumor region for different input drug parameters such as drug type, density and dose concentrations.M.S. (Master of Science