Influence of abdominal aortic aneurysm shape on hemodynamics in human aortofemoral arteries: A transient open-loop study

Abstract

New imaging methods have enabled the detection of unruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). It is necessary to develop appropriate mathematical models for rupture prediction to allow a proper patient treatment plan. To provide valid hemodynamic parameters, high-fidelity numerical models with patient-specific boundary conditions are needed. Researchers have pointed out in recent research articles and reviews that those morphological parameters, such as shape, dilation ratio, neck angle, common iliac bifurcation angle, and AAA type, consistently correlate with the rupture mechanism. However, it is unclear how morphological indicators affect hemodynamics-based computational fluid dynamics predictions. The present work investigates the influence of AAA shape on local and global hemodynamics parameters and rupture predictions. Five cases of magnetic resonance imaging scan-based data for patient-specific aortofemoral artery modeling are explored. The inflow conditions are patient-specific, and an open loop system has been considered to model all five cases. Hemodynamics parameters in pulsating conditions, such as wall shear stress (WSS), velocity contour, time average WSS (TAWSS), oscillatory shear index (OSI), vorticity, and streamlines, are computed and investigated. Both maximum dilation diameter and aneurysm neck angle are found to have substantial effects on local hemodynamics parameters. The magnitude of WSS, TAWSS, and OSI increases and decreases non-linearly with a change in maximum diameter during the cardiac process. Also, aneurysms with doubly titled and completely saccular shape show complex streamlines, low WSS, and high residence time in the sac area of the wall.