BIOMEDICAL FLUID MECHANICS

Stability of arterial networks

Arteries remodel their internal diameters in response to modified flow rates. Based on the pioneering work of Murray in 1926 it is assumed that the remodeling is aiming at minimisation of the power needed to maintain (a) the flow rate and (b) the blood volume.

Cardiac by-pass operations are applied when coronary arteries are obstructed by stenosis. The by-pass is typically constructed out of another artery such as the left internal mammarial artery (LIMA). In apprioximately 5% of these operations the by-pass contracts to a so-called string in the weeks or months after the operation, which renders the by-pass as ineffective.

We investigate the predictability of the string-effect both theoretically and experimentally using post-operative angiographic data.

Cooperation
- prof. dr. Jan Grandjean, prof. dr. Clemens von Birgelen, P. Spoor MSc (Thorax Centre, Medical Spectrum Twente)
- prof. dr. ir. Kees Venner (Engineering Fluid Dynamics, University of Twente)
From left to right: Prof. Kees Venner, prof. Jan Grandjean, dr. Rob Hagmeijer.