engleski

Implementation of Thrombus-laden Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms into Finite Element Code

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized dilatation of the abdominal aorta characterized by formation of intraluminal thrombus (ILT). These thrombi biologically and mechanically influence growth and remodeling (G&R) of AAAs, and therefore, they should not be treated as homogenous inert material. Yet, hitherto developed computational growth and remodeling models have neglected complex biochemomechanical influence of the thrombus on the evolution of the disease. Due to significant loss of functional elastin and smooth muscle, collagen remains the principal load-bearing constituent in the aneurysmal wall, and therefore its turnover and mechanical properties were believed to have a critical role in the natural history of the lesion. Yet, our comprehensive growth and remodeling model of thrombus-laden AAAs applied to cylindrical geometry, suggested collagen properties, albeit important, are not the only ones to determine clinical outcome of AAA enlargement. Additionally, the computational results showed that biochemical and biomechanical properties of ILT have a great influence on AAA growth pattern, and are a likely cause of discontinuous growth. Therefore, in order to confirm these hypotheses, there is a need to improve modeling of collagen fibers and to use more realistic geometries, i.e. implement model into finite element code.

thrombus; aneurysm; G&R

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