Numerical Simulation of Auto-Regulation and Collateral Circulation in the Human Brain

• Published in: Journal of mechanical science and technology Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 525 - 535
• Main Author: Kim, Changsung Sean
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 대한기계학회 01.03.2007
• Subjects: 기계공학; Collateral circulation; Auto-regulation; Computational fluid dynamics (CFD); Cerebral circulation; Human brain; Magnetic resonance image (MRI); Circle of willis
• ISSN: 1738-494X; 1976-3824

A novel approach using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and magnetic resonance image (MRI) is applied to model the auto-regulation and blood flow in the human brain. To provide a basic understanding of the auto-regulation mechanism in the brain, an anatomical Circle of Willis configuration is reconstructed from subject-specific magnetic resonance images using image segmentation methods and grid generation techniques. The three-dimensional unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved iteratively using the pseudocompressibility method and dual time stepping method. For the efficient simulation of three-dimensional time-dependent flows, parallel computations based on a domain decomposition method are performed. A simple auto-regulation algorithm is presented to model the dynamic peripheral resistance due to arteriolar contraction and dilatation. The present numerical methods are then used to simulate the auto-regulation of blood flow in the realistic Circle of Willis model with geometrical variants. The computed results show the correlation between abnormal vascular structures and the auto-regulation mechanism in the cerebral circulation.