Mechanical characterization of atherosclerotic arteries using finite-element modeling: feasibility study on mock arteries.
Clinical studies on lipid-lowering therapy have shown that changing the composition of lipid pools reduced significantly the risk of cardiac events associated with plaque rupture. It has been shown also that changing the composition of the lipid pool affects its mechanical properties. However, knowledge about the mechanical properties of human atherosclerotic lesions remains limited due to the difficulty of the experiments. This paper aims to assess the feasibility of characterizing a lipid pool embedded in the wall of a pressurized vessel using finite-element simulations and an optimization algorithm. Finite-element simulations of inflation experiments were used together with nonlinear least squares algorithm to estimate the material model parameters of the wall and of the inclusion. An optimal fit of the simulated experiment and the real experiment was sought with the parameter estimation algorithm. The method was first tested on a single-layer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) cryogel stenotic vessel, and then, applied on a double-layered PVA cryogel stenotic vessel with a lipid inclusion.
Pazos
Valérie
V
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2K6, Canada. valerie.pazos@mail.mcgill.ca
Mongrain
Rosaire
R
Tardif
Jean-Claude
JC
D001158:Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D001794:Blood Pressure; D003198:Computer Simulation; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular