Numerical Simulation of the Contact of a Stent on an Aneurismatic Cerebral Artery with solids4foam

Abstract

Intracranial aneurysms (IAs) are abnormalities formed in the cerebral arteries characterized by outpouching regions of their walls. The danger with these lesions occurs if they rupture, which causes an intracranial haemorrhage and possibly leads to the death of the patient, presenting a mortality rate as high as 50%. The rupture event is hard to predict, though, and surgical treatments also pose risks to patients. Hence, due to a better outcome for the patient and low risk of post¿surgical complications, the procedure known as embolization has become the most common option among neurosurgeons. In this procedure, the IA is filled with coils, to stop blood flowing into the aneurysm and, subsequently, a stent is placed inside the artery to prevent the migration of coils. However, the exact interaction between the stent and coils with the blood flow and, mainly, with the arterial wall was poorly investigated. In this context, the Computational Solid Dynamics (CSD) technique was also used to understand the stent deployment inside the artery. However, due to the complex geometry of a stent and the lack of information regarding the models that should be used to represent aneurysm tissue, few numerical studies have looked into the effect that stents cause on the aneurysm wall and artery upon release when the former are modelled as hyperelastic solids, the typical model that should be used for these arteries. In this context, the main goal of this research project is to evaluate this interaction in a model of an artery with an aneurysm by implementing the deployment of a stent inside a model of an artery with an aneurysm by using OpenFOAM® and its extension solids4foam, which implements the Finite Volume Method to simulate the motion of solids.