title: Computational assessment of the effects of the catheter type on particle-hemodynamics during liver radioembolization.
abstract: Radioembolization, which consist of the implantation of radioactive microspheres via intra-arterially placed microcatheter, is a safe and effective treatment for liver cancer. Nevertheless, radioembolization-related complications and side effects may arise, which are an active area of ongoing research. The catheter design has been claimed as an option in reducing these complications. In this paper, the influence of catheter type and location are investigated. The study was undertaken by numerically simulating the particle-hemodynamics in a patient-specific hepatic artery during liver radioembolization. The parameters modified were cancer scenario (30% liver involvement in the right lobe, 'scenario A', and in both lobes, 'scenario B'), catheter type (standard end-hole microcatheter, SMC, and antireflux catheter, ARC), and the location of the tip in the proper hepatic artery (in the straight part, 'inlet', and near the bifurcation, 'bifurcation'). Comparing ARC with SMC, the maximum and average (over segments) absolute difference in the percentage of particles that reached each segment were 19.62% and 9.06% when injecting near the inlet for scenario A; 3.54% and 1.07% injecting near the bifurcation for scenario A; and 18.31% and 11.85% injecting near the inlet for scenario B. It seems, therefore, that the location of the catheter tip in the artery is crucial in terms of particle distribution. Moreover, even though the near-tip blood flow was altered due to the presence of a catheter, the particle distribution matched the flow split if the distance between the injection point and the first bifurcation encountered enabled the alignment of particles with blood flow.
authors.affiliation: Thermal and Fluids Engineering Division, Mechanical Department, Tecnun-University of Navarra, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aramburu
authors.affiliation: Thermal and Fluids Engineering Division, Mechanical Department, Tecnun-University of Navarra, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain. Electronic address: ranton@tecnun.es.
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Antón
authors.affiliation: Thermal and Fluids Engineering Division, Mechanical Department, Tecnun-University of Navarra, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.affiliation: Thermal and Fluids Engineering Division, Mechanical Department, Tecnun-University of Navarra, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain; Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sangro
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain; Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: José Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Bilbao
mesh_terms: D057785:Catheters; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008863:Microspheres
keywords: Antireflux catheter; Computational fluid–particle dynamics; Hemodynamics; Hepatic artery; Radioembolization