A Preliminary Study of Thrombus Modelling in Patient-Specific Left Atrial Appendage
Please login to view abstract download link
Left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombosis is a common cardiovascular complication occurring in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation. The resulting blood clot that can alter the normal blood flow and eventually migrate into the cardiovascular system, impairing the blood delivery to the affected regions. This preliminary study employs an innovative monolithic fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model [1], based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), to model and investigate thrombosis in LAA patient-specific morphologies [2] under sinus rhythm and atrial fibrillation conditions. Specifically, the employed approach [1] transforms fluid particles into a solid phase by introducing internal spring bounds when a thrombus is expected to develop. The clot formation is modelled by tracking the concentration of biochemical species involved in the coagulation cascade and the platelet aggregation. In particular, four biochemical species (thrombin, prothrombin, fibrin and fibrinogen) and three types of platelets (resting, activated and bounded) are considered in the model. In order to simulate sinus rhythm and atrial fibrillation conditions, the contraction of the LAA, derived from previous studies from our group [3], is imposed to the fluid domain as moving boundaries. The aim of this model is to predict the formation, growth and dissolution of thrombi. The simplicity and versatility of the proposed method renders it a promising tool for assessing thromboembolic risks in patient-specific scenarios and design safer medical devices.
