THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF NON-NEWTONIAN CHARACTERISTICS OF BLOOD IN THE HEMODYNAMICS OF THE CAROTID BIFURCATION

경동맥 혈류유동에서의 혈액의 비뉴우토니안 특성의 상대적 중요성 해석

In this study, we attempted to quantify the relative importance of assumptions regarding blood rheology. Three patient-specific carotid bifurcation geometries and time-varying flow rates were obtained using magnetic resonance imaging. For each subject, CFD simulations were carried out assuming two different non-Newtonian rheology models Carreau and Ballyk models) and rescaled Newtonian viscosities based on characteristic shear rates to account for the shear-thinning property of blood. The sensitivity of WSS and oscillatory shear index (OSI) were contextualized with respect to the reproducibility of the reconstructed geometry and to assumptions regarding the inlet boundary conditions. We conclude that the assumption of Newtonian fluid is reasonable for studies aimed at quantifying the distribution of WSS-based extrema in an image-based CFD model of carotid bifurcation.