{"title":"Simulation of plaque formation in a realistic geometry of a human aorta: effects of endothelial layer properties, heart rate, and hypertension","authors":"Amirabbas Benvidi, Bahar Firoozabadi","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01864-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01864-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nowadays, cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death worldwide. Besides, atherosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease that occurs with persistent narrowing of arteries, especially medium and large-sized arteries. Atherosclerosis begins with a local elevation in the permeability of the arterial wall as a result of endothelial inflammation. Subsequently, excess LDL permeates into the arterial wall. Then, through several chemical responses and reactions, foam cells are produced. These foam cells serve as a crucial indicator for assessing the development of atherosclerosis within the arteries. In this study, the effect of endothelial layer modeling, heart rate (HR) and hypertension on the foam cell accumulation is numerically investigated in a patient-specific geometry of the human thoracic aorta. Navier–Stokes, Darcy, and mass transfer equations are used to obtain the velocity and concentration field within the domain. Regarding the dependence of endothelial cell properties on time-averaged wall shear stress, it is observed that foam cells are mainly concentrated in the outer curvature of the aortic arch, downstream of the left subclavian artery. However, considering oscillatory-shear-rate as the determinant of endothelial cell properties leads to the accumulation of foam cells in the inner curvature of the descending aorta. Regarding the HR, with the increase of HR, the volume average concentration of the foam cell decreases. However, there is no substantial difference between the cases of different HRs. Moreover, foam cell concentration significantly increases in the hypertension case. This result implies that a slight increase in the blood pressure may induce irreparable problems in the circulatory system.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1723 - 1740"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141282647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The effect of the endothelial surface layer on cell–cell interactions in microvessel bifurcations","authors":"Carlson Triebold, Jared Barber","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01863-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01863-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Red blood cells (RBCs) carry oxygen and make up 40–45% of blood by volume in large vessels down to 10% or less in smaller capillaries. Because of their finite size and large volume fraction, they are heterogeneously distributed throughout the body. This is partially because RBCs are distributed or partitioned nonuniformly at diverging vessel bifurcations where blood flows from one vessel into two. Despite its increased recognition as an important player in the microvasculature, few studies have explored how the endothelial surface layer (ESL; a vessel wall coating) may affect partitioning and RBC dynamics at diverging vessel bifurcations. Here, we use a mathematical and computational model to consider how altering ESL properties, as can occur in pathological scenarios, change RBC partitioning, deformation, and penetration of the ESL. The two-dimensional finite element model considers pairs of cells, represented by interconnected viscoelastic elements, passing through an ESL-lined diverging vessel bifurcation. The properties of the ESL include the hydraulic resistivity and an osmotic pressure difference modeling how easily fluid flows through the ESL and how easily the ESL is structurally compressed, respectively. We find that cell–cell interaction leads to more uniform partitioning and greatly enhances the effects of ESL properties, especially for deformation and penetration. This includes the trend that increased hydraulic resistivity leads to more uniform partitioning, increased deformation, and decreased penetration. It also includes the trend that decreased osmotic pressure increases penetration.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1695 - 1721"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141282648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaiyue Zhang, Pan Song, Yan Pei, Xinhui Liu, Min Dai, Jun Wen
{"title":"Numerical investigation on the impact of different coronary aneurysms morphologies on thrombus formation and hemodynamics: a comparative study","authors":"Kaiyue Zhang, Pan Song, Yan Pei, Xinhui Liu, Min Dai, Jun Wen","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01859-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01859-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) are morphologically classified as saccular and fusiform. There is still a great deal of clinical controversy as to which types of CAA are more likely to cause thrombosis. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the trend of thrombus growth in CAAs with different morphologies and to assess the risk of possible long-term complications based on hemodynamic parameters. Utilizing computed tomography angiography (CTA) data from eight healthy coronary arteries, two distinct morphologies of coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) were reconstructed. Distribution of four wall shear stress (WSS)-based indicators and three helicity indicators was analyzed in this study. Meanwhile, a thrombus growth model was introduced to analyze the thrombus formation in CAAs with different morphologies. The research results showed the distribution of most WSS indicators between saccular and fusiform CAAs was not statistically significant. However, due to the presence of a more pronounced helical flow pattern, irregular helical flow structure and longer time of flow stagnation in saccular CAAs during the cardiac cycle, the mean and maximum relative residence time (RRT) were significantly higher in saccular CAAs than in fusiform CAAs (<i>P</i> < 0.05). This may increase the risk of saccular coronary arteries leading to aneurysmal dilatation or even rupture. Although the two CAAs had similar rates of thrombosis, fusiform CAAs may more early cause obstruction of the main coronary flow channel where the aneurysm is located due to thrombosis growth. Thus, the risk of thrombosis in fusiform coronary aneurysms may warrant greater clinical concern.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1631 - 1647"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141282646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Peng Wu, Ke-Jia Zhang, Wen-Jing Xiang, Guan-Ting Du
{"title":"Turbulent flow field in maglev centrifugal blood pumps of CH-VAD and HeartMate III: secondary flow and its effects on pump performance","authors":"Peng Wu, Ke-Jia Zhang, Wen-Jing Xiang, Guan-Ting Du","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01855-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01855-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Secondary flow path is one of the crucial aspects during the design of centrifugal blood pumps. Small clearance size increases stress level and blood damage, while large clearance size can improve blood washout and reduce stress level. Nonetheless, large clearance also leads to strong secondary flows, causing further blood damage. Maglev blood pumps rely on magnetic force to achieve rotor suspension and allow more design freedom of clearance size. This study aims to characterize turbulent flow field and secondary flow as well as its effects on the primary flow and pump performance, in two representative commercial maglev blood pumps of CH-VAD and HeartMate III, which feature distinct designs of secondary flow path. The narrow and long secondary flow path of CH-VAD resulted in low secondary flow rates and low disturbance to the primary flow. The flow loss and blood damage potential of the CH-VAD mainly occurred at the secondary flow path, as well as the blade clearances. By contrast, the wide clearances in HeartMate III induced significant disturbance to the primary flow, resulting in large incidence angle, strong secondary flows and high flow loss. At higher flow rates, the incidence angle was even larger, causing larger separation, leading to a significant decrease of efficiency and steeper performance curve compared with CH-VAD. This study shows that maglev bearings do not guarantee good blood compatibility, and more attention should be paid to the influence of secondary flows on pump performance when designing centrifugal blood pumps.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1571 - 1589"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141183212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Construction of multi-component finite element model to predict biomechanical behaviour of breasts during running and quantification of the stiffness impact of internal structure","authors":"Jiazhen Chen, Yue Sun, Qilong Liu, Joanne Yip, Kit-lun Yick","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01862-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01862-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study aims to investigate the biomechanical behaviour and the stiffness impact of the breast internal components during running. To achieve this, a novel nonlinear multi-component dynamic finite element method (FEM) has been established, which uses experimental data obtained via 4D scanning technology and a motion capture system. The data are used to construct a geometric model that comprises the rigid body, layers of soft tissues, skin, pectoralis major muscle, fat, ligaments and glandular tissues. The traditional point-to-point method has a relative mean absolute error of less than 7.92% while the latest surface-to-surface method has an average Euclidean distance (<i>d</i>) of 7.05 mm, validating the simulated results. After simulating the motion of the different components of the breasts, the displacement analysis confirms that when the motion reaches the moment of largest displacement, the displacement of the breast components is proportional to their distance from the chest wall. A biomechanical analysis indicates that the stress sustained by the breast components in ascending order is the glandular tissues, pectoralis major muscle, adipose tissues, and ligaments. The ligaments provide the primary support during motion, followed by the pectoralis major muscle. In addition, specific stress points of the breast components are identified. The stiffness impact experiment indicates that compared with ligaments, the change of glandular tissue stiffness had a slightly more obvious effect on the breast surface. The findings serve as a valuable reference for the medical field and sports bra industry to enhance breast protection during motion.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1679 - 1694"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10237-024-01862-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141160722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shilong Zhang, Tongyao Yu, Ge Zhang, Ming Chen, Dachuan Yin, Chenyan Zhang
{"title":"Systematic simulation of tumor cell invasion and migration in response to time-varying rotating magnetic field","authors":"Shilong Zhang, Tongyao Yu, Ge Zhang, Ming Chen, Dachuan Yin, Chenyan Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01858-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01858-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cancer invasion and migration play a pivotal role in tumor malignancy, which is a major cause of most cancer deaths. Rotating magnetic field (RMF), one of the typical dynamic magnetic fields, can exert substantial mechanical influence on cells. However, studying the effects of RMF on cell is challenging due to its complex parameters, such as variation of magnetic field intensity and direction. Here, we developed a systematic simulation method to explore the influence of RMF on tumor invasion and migration, including a finite element method (FEM) model and a cell-based hybrid numerical model. Coupling with the data of magnetic field from FEM, the cell-based hybrid numerical model was established to simulate the tumor cell invasion and migration. This model employed partial differential equations (PDEs) and finite difference method to depict cellular activities and solve these equations in a discrete system. PDEs were used to depict cell activities, and finite difference method was used to solve the equations in discrete system. As a result, this study provides valuable insights into the potential applications of RMF in tumor treatment, and a series of in vitro experiments were performed to verify the simulation results, demonstrating the model's reliability and its capacity to predict experimental outcomes and identify pertinent factors. Furthermore, these findings shed new light on the mechanical and chemical interplay between cells and the ECM, offering new insights and providing a novel foundation for both experimental and theoretical advancements in tumor treatment by using RMF.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1617 - 1630"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141154815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Harriet G. Talbott, Richard A. Wilkins, Claire L. Brockett, Marlène Mengoni
{"title":"Incorporating pathological gait into patient-specific finite element models of the haemophilic ankle","authors":"Harriet G. Talbott, Richard A. Wilkins, Claire L. Brockett, Marlène Mengoni","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01857-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01857-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Haemarthrosis is an inherent clinical feature of haemophilia, a disease characterised by an absence or reduction in clotting proteins. Patients with severe haemophilia experience joint bleeding leading to blood-induced ankle arthropathy (haemarthropathy). Altered biomechanics of the ankle have been reported in people with haemophilia; however, the consequence of this on joint health is little understood. The aim of this study was to assess the changes in joint contact due to haemophilia disease-specific gait features using patient-specific modelling, to better understand the link between biomechanics and joint outcomes. Four, image-based, finite element models of haemophilic ankles were simulated through consecutive events in the stance phase of gait, using both patient-specific and healthy control group (n = 36) biomechanical inputs. One healthy control FE model was simulated through the healthy control stance phase of the gait cycle for a point of comparison. The method developed allowed cartilage contact mechanics to be assessed throughout the loading phase of the gait cycle. This showed areas of increased contact pressure in the medial and lateral regions of the talar dome, which may be linked to collapse in these regions. This method may allow the relationship between structure and function in the tibiotalar joint to be better understood.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1607 - 1616"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11436417/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141064355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel S. Fidalgo, Renato M. Natal Jorge, Marco P. L. Parente, Erin M. Louwagie, Ewelina Malanowska, Kristin M. Myers, Dulce A. Oliveira
{"title":"Pregnancy state before the onset of labor: a holistic mechanical perspective","authors":"Daniel S. Fidalgo, Renato M. Natal Jorge, Marco P. L. Parente, Erin M. Louwagie, Ewelina Malanowska, Kristin M. Myers, Dulce A. Oliveira","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01853-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01853-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Successful pregnancy highly depends on the complex interaction between the uterine body, cervix, and fetal membrane. This interaction is synchronized, usually following a specific sequence in normal vaginal deliveries: (1) cervical ripening, (2) uterine contractions, and (3) rupture of fetal membrane. The complex interaction between the cervix, fetal membrane, and uterine contractions before the onset of labor is investigated using a complete third-trimester gravid model of the uterus, cervix, fetal membrane, and abdomen. Through a series of numerical simulations, we investigate the mechanical impact of (i) initial cervical shape, (ii) cervical stiffness, (iii) cervical contractions, and (iv) intrauterine pressure. The findings of this work reveal several key observations: (i) maximum principal stress values in the cervix decrease in more dilated, shorter, and softer cervices; (ii) reduced cervical stiffness produces increased cervical dilation, larger cervical opening, and decreased cervical length; (iii) the initial cervical shape impacts final cervical dimensions; (iv) cervical contractions increase the maximum principal stress values and change the stress distributions; (v) cervical contractions potentiate cervical shortening and dilation; (vi) larger intrauterine pressure (IUP) causes considerably larger stress values and cervical opening, larger dilation, and smaller cervical length; and (vii) the biaxial strength of the fetal membrane is only surpassed in the cases of the (1) shortest and most dilated initial cervical geometry and (2) larger IUP.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1531 - 1550"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11436406/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140954860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Caterina Balzotti, Pierfrancesco Siena, Michele Girfoglio, Giovanni Stabile, Jorge Dueñas-Pamplona, José Sierra-Pallares, Ignacio Amat-Santos, Gianluigi Rozza
{"title":"A reduced order model formulation for left atrium flow: an atrial fibrillation case","authors":"Caterina Balzotti, Pierfrancesco Siena, Michele Girfoglio, Giovanni Stabile, Jorge Dueñas-Pamplona, José Sierra-Pallares, Ignacio Amat-Santos, Gianluigi Rozza","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01847-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01847-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A data-driven reduced order model (ROM) based on a proper orthogonal decomposition-radial basis function (POD-RBF) approach is adopted in this paper for the analysis of blood flow dynamics in a patient-specific case of atrial fibrillation (AF). The full order model (FOM) is represented by incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, discretized with a finite volume (FV) approach. Both the Newtonian and the Casson’s constitutive laws are employed. The aim is to build a computational tool able to efficiently and accurately reconstruct the patterns of relevant hemodynamics indices related to the stasis of the blood in a physical parametrization framework including the cardiac output in the Newtonian case and also the plasma viscosity and the hematocrit in the non-Newtonian one. Many FOM-ROM comparisons are shown to analyze the performance of our approach as regards errors and computational speed-up.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 4","pages":"1411 - 1429"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11341613/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140943732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A computationally efficient gradient-enhanced healing model for soft biological tissues","authors":"Di Zuo, Mingji Zhu, Daye Chen, Qiwen Xue","doi":"10.1007/s10237-024-01851-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10237-024-01851-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Soft biological tissues, such as arterial tissue, have the ability to grow and remodel in response to damage. Computational method plays a critical role in understanding the underlying mechanisms of tissue damage and healing. However, the existing healing model often requires huge computation time and it is inconvenient to implement finite element simulation. In this paper, we propose a computationally efficient gradient-enhanced healing model that combines the advantages of the gradient-enhanced damage model, the homeostatic-driven turnover remodeling model, and the damage-induced growth model. In the proposed model, the evolution of healing-related parameters can be solved explicitly. Additionally, an adaptive time increment method is used to further reduce computation time. The proposed model can be easily implemented in Abaqus, requiring only a user subroutine UMAT. The effectiveness of proposed model is verified through a semi-analytical example, and the influence of the variables in the proposed model is investigated using uniaxial tension and open-hole plate tests. Finally, the long-term development of aneurysms is simulated to demonstrate the potential applications of the proposed model in real biomechanical problems.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":489,"journal":{"name":"Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology","volume":"23 5","pages":"1491 - 1509"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140907834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}