Document Type

Conference Paper

Rights

This item is available under a Creative Commons License for non-commercial use only

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Publication Details

Published in the WSEAS Transactions on Computer Research 2006

Abstract

Coronary stent implantation can improve blood flow in an artery narrowed by the build up of arterial plaque. However, the haemodynamic effect of stent placement is unclear and may influence arterial restenosis (re-blockage). In this investigation the stent induced, non-Newtonian blood flow disturbances have been captured in a three dimensional computational domain. The results clearly show areas of low wall shear stress proximal and distal to the stent wires, a characteristic which is known to encourage restenosis. Furthermore, this computational method of observing the complex haemodynamics of the stent environment can be used in conjunction with medical trial data to find links between stent design and restenosis patterns.