Mathematical modeling of thrombus formation in idealized models of aortic dissection: initial findings and potential applications

Aortic dissection is a major aortic catastrophe with a high morbidity and mortality risk caused by the formation of a tear in the aortic wall. The development of a second blood filled region defined as the false lumen causes highly disturbed flow patterns and creates local hemodynamic conditions likely to promote the formation of thrombus in the false lumen. Previous research has shown that patient prognosis is influenced by the level of thrombosis in the false lumen, with false lumen patency and partial thrombosis being associated with late complications and complete thrombosis of the false lumen having beneficial effects on patient outcomes. In this paper, a new hemodynamics-based model is proposed to predict the formation of thrombus in Type B dissection. Shear rates, fluid residence time, and platelet distribution are employed to evaluate the likelihood for thrombosis and to simulate the growth of thrombus and its effects on blood flow over time. The model is applied to different idealized aortic dissections to investigate the effect of geometric features on thrombus formation. Our results are in qualitative agreement with in-vivo observations, and show the potential applicability of such a modeling approach to predict the progression of aortic dissection in anatomically realistic geometries.