Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are classified as non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that are dangerous and have an increasing trend nowadays. This disease is related to lifestyle behavior. It tends to accumulate symptoms gradually and become more severe if it is not treated properly and in time. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a dangerous disease and can cause sudden death if ruptured. This research project has applied an engineering tool called a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) for medical applications. Computed tomography images of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms were acquired to perform a reconstructed geometry of AAA. There were 12 cases of patients who have AAA with a diameter larger than 3 cm. The blood properties and boundary conditions were assigned in the model. The results of this study found that the aortic aneurysm was highly turbulent in the diastolic phase and there was an increase in turbulence as the aneurysm size increased. This turbulent flow was also found during peak systole as well. Wall shear stress (WSS) in the artery was high at peak systole and during diastole. Furthermore, WSS was higher in the aortic aneurysm sac than in the rest of the aorta. The oscillating shear index (OSI) was higher at the aortic aneurysm sac than other areas. This may lead to a risk of rupture point of blood vessels. However, the results could not be directly compared in the same group of patients because each patient had a different geometries and degree of tortuosity. Therefore, this kind of calculation is individual as a personalized model. In addition, this work has 3D printed models of the abdominal aorta to create a testing mock-up for the aneurysm. However, it was found that the material used in the AAA phantom was not clear and flexible. These problems relate to the flow visualization in the blood vessels and the wall contraction simulation of the blood vessels. More studies are needed to explore suitable materials to mock-up the AAA model for flow testing.
