Three-dimensional numerical simulations of pulsatile blood flow in the mouse aortic arch around atherosclerotic plaques

Atherosclerotic plaques develop at particular sites in the arterial tree, and this regional localisation depends largely on hemodynamic parameters (such as wall shear stress; WSS) as described in the literature. Plaque rupture can result in heart attack or stroke and hence understanding the development and vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques is critically important. The purpose of this study is to characterise the hemodynamics of blood flow in the mouse aortic arch using numerical modelling. The geometries are digitalised from synchrotron imaging and realistic pulsatile blood flow is considered. In addition, this project seeks to validate a numerical approach that is adaptable to fluid structure interaction methods. Two cases are considered; arteries with and without plaque. The time-averaged WSS distribution in the absence of plaque is qualitatively similar to other results presented in the literature. The presence of plaque was shown to alter the blood flow and hence WSS distribution, with regions of localised high WSS on the wall of the brachiocephalic artery where luminal narrowing is most pronounced.