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Theoretical modeling of micro-scale biological phenomena in human coronary arteries

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Abstract

This paper presents a mathematical model of biological structures in relation to coronary arteries with atherosclerosis. A set of equations has been derived to compute blood flow through these transport vessels with variable axial and radial geometries. Three-dimensional reconstructions of diseased arteries from cadavers have shown that atherosclerotic lesions spiral through the artery. The theoretical framework is able to explain the phenomenon of lesion distribution in a helical pattern by examining the structural parameters that affect the flow resistance and wall shear stress. The study is useful for connecting the relationship between the arterial wall geometries and hemodynamics of blood. It provides a simple, elegant and non-invasive method to predict flow properties for geometrically complex pathology at micro-scale levels and with low computational cost.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CBME) and School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Kelvin Wong, Jagannath Mazumdar & Derek Abbott

  2. Cardiovascular Research Centre, Department of Cardiology, Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Stephen G. Worthley & Prashanthan Sanders

  3. Land Operations Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, P.O. Box 1500, Edinburgh, SA, 5111, Australia

    Brandon Pincombe

Authors
  1. Kelvin Wong
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  2. Jagannath Mazumdar
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  3. Brandon Pincombe
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  4. Stephen G. Worthley
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  5. Prashanthan Sanders
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  6. Derek Abbott
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Correspondence to Kelvin Wong.

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Wong, K., Mazumdar, J., Pincombe, B. et al. Theoretical modeling of micro-scale biological phenomena in human coronary arteries. Med Bio Eng Comput 44, 971–982 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-006-0113-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-006-0113-6

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