A Fluid–Structure Interaction Model of the Left Coronary Artery

A fluid–structure interaction (FSI) model of a left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was developed, incorporating transient blood flow, cyclic bending motion of the artery, and myocardial contraction. The three-dimensional (3D) geometry was constructed based on a patient's computed tomography angiography (CTA) data. To simulate disease conditions, a plaque was placed within the LAD to create a 70% stenosis. The bending motion of the blood vessel was prescribed based on the LAD spatial information. The pressure induced by myocardial contraction was applied to the outside of the blood vessel wall. The fluid domain was solved using the Navier–Stokes equations. The arterial wall was defined as a nonlinear elastic, anisotropic, and incompressible material, and the mechanical behavior was described using the modified hyper-elastic Mooney–Rivlin model. The fluid (blood) and solid (vascular wall) domains were fully coupled. The simulation results demonstrated that besides vessel bending/stretching motion, myocardial contraction had a significant effect on local hemodynamics and vascular wall stress/strain distribution. It not only transiently increased blood flow velocity and fluid wall shear stress, but also changed shear stress patterns. The presence of the plaque significantly reduced vascular wall tensile strain. Compared to the coronary artery models developed previously, the current model had improved physiological relevance.