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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1467257
This article is part of the Research Topic Diagnostic and Predictive Roles of Computational Cardiovascular Hemodynamics in the Management of Cardiovascular Diseases View all 3 articles

Numerical Study on the Cerebral Blood Flow regulation in the circle of Willis with the vascular absence and internal carotid artery stenosis

Provisionally accepted
Hong Lv Hong Lv 1Kailei Fu Kailei Fu 1Wei Liu Wei Liu 2Zhiyi He Zhiyi He 1*Zhiqing Li Zhiqing Li 1*
  • 1 China Medical University, Shenyang, China
  • 2 Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study explores how vascular stenosis and absence affect the regulation of cerebral blood flow in the Circle of Willis (CoW) and the hemodynamic changes downstream of the stenosis.Forty idealized CoW models were simulated to analyze the impact of vascular absence and internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis on hemodynamics. Inlet conditions were set using a physiological pressure waveform, and outflow boundaries were modeled using three-element Windkessel models.The absence of vessels such as RP1, LP1, RA1, or LA1 had a comparable effect on total blood flow to a 40% stenosis of the left internal carotid artery (LICA) across the entire CoW. Specifically, when LP1 and RA1 were absent with a 50% LICA stenosis, the total blood flow closely resembled that of a complete CoW with 75% LICA stenosis.In cases of proximal ICA stenosis, downstream regions showed elevated oscillatory shear index (OSI > 0.2) and reduced time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS < 1 Pa). With increasing stenosis severity, areas of high OSI shifted, and regions of low TAWSS expanded notably. At 75% stenosis, the area with TAWSS < 1 Pa downstream significantly increased. Until complete occlusion, the area of low TAWSS and high OSI were maximized.This study underscores how anatomical variations in the CoW, combined with ICA stenosis, impact both total cerebral blood flow and its distribution among different outlets. Moreover, it highlights the potential for increased atherosclerosis development in affected areas. Particularly notable is the finding the absence of LP1 and RA1 vessels alongside 50% LICA stenosis results in blood flow patterns similar to those seen with 75% LICA stenosis in a complete CoW, emphasizing clinical implications for the patient. Hemodynamic changes, including TAWSS and OSI, are most pronounced downstream of the stenosis especially when the stenosis rate exceeds 75%.

    Keywords: Circle of Willis, vascular anatomical variations, Flow characteristic, Compensation function, Hemodynamic factors

    Received: 19 Jul 2024; Accepted: 12 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lv, Fu, Liu, He and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zhiyi He, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
    Zhiqing Li, China Medical University, Shenyang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.