A FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTION MODEL FOR CEREBRAL VASCULATURE, BRAIN TISSUE, AND

Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

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Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. We request computing time and storage on TeraGrid resources, in particular, the Abe and Pople Computing Resources to execute large scale CFD simulations and to produce electronic visualizations of 3D Generated Vasculature. The dynamics of cerebral blood flow and its role in maintaining homeostasis of the central nervous system (CNS) is of high clinical relevance. A mechanistic understanding of intracranial dynamics may lead to greater insight of cerebrovascular disorders and cerebral blood flow autoregulation. Computational models of the cerebral vasculature can assist neurosurgeons in diagnosis and rational design of patient-specific treatments. To this end, computer models of cerebral vasculature which capture hemodynamic properties of human vasculature are constructed using modern medical imaging combined with automatic vessel generation techniques. The artificially generated cerebral networks enable the simulation of blood flow and pressure distribution throughout the cerebral vasculature bed. These studies permit a quantitative analysis of cerebral hemodynamics and may lead to fundamental understanding of complex dynamics like autoregulation, functional hyperemia, and fluid-structure interaction in the brain. What is made possible then is the creation of a decision-making tool for neurosurgeons that will alleviate some of the inherent risks of neurosurgery, which primarily arise from the complex and complicated nature of the brain and the unpredictability of pharmacokinetic intervention. In addition, the pharmacokinetic model that is created will also be highly useful in the aspect of modeling and simulations. The current system incorporates the sacrifice of animals in the hope that a fundamental understanding of how chemicals and other agents act in the brain under varying circumstances. Simulations with the product model will be able to predict to a certain degree the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of a neurosurgeons decision, and thus reduce the number of possible animal experiments. Our request of 200K SUs will enable construction of computational models that will enable us to run more realistic hemodynamic simulations of the entire human brain.