What Does Computational Fluid Dynamics Tell Us About Intracranial Aneurysms? A Meta-analysis and Critical Review

Overview

Journal J Cereb Blood Flow Metab

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialties Cardiology & Vascular Diseases
Endocrinology
Neurology

Date 2019 Jun 20

PMID 31213162

Citations 33

Authors

Khalid M Saqr

Sherif Rashad

Simon Tupin

Kuniyasu Niizuma

Tamer Hassan

Teiji Tominaga

Makoto Ohta

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Despite the plethora of published studies on intracranial aneurysms (IAs) hemodynamic using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), limited progress has been made towards understanding the complex physics and biology underlying IA pathophysiology. Guided by 1733 published papers, we review and discuss the contemporary IA hemodynamics paradigm established through two decades of IA CFD simulations. We have traced the historical origins of simplified CFD models which impede the progress of comprehending IA pathology. We also delve into the debate concerning the Newtonian fluid assumption used to represent blood flow computationally. We evidently demonstrate that the Newtonian assumption, used in almost 90% of studies, might be insufficient to describe IA hemodynamics. In addition, some fundamental properties of the Navier-Stokes equation are revisited in supplementary material to highlight some widely spread misconceptions regarding wall shear stress (WSS) and its derivatives. Conclusively, our study draws a roadmap for next-generation IA CFD models to help researchers investigate the pathophysiology of IAs.

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