Segmentation of wall and plaque in in vitro vascular MR images.

Atherosclerosis leads to heart attack and stroke, which are major killers in the western world. These cardiovascular events frequently result from local rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. Non-invasive assessment of plaque vulnerability would dramatically change the way in which atherosclerotic disease is diagnosed, monitored, and treated.

Passive biaxial mechanical response of aged human iliac arteries.

Inflation and extension tests of arteries are essential for the understanding of arterial wall mechanics. Data for such tests of human arteries are rare. At autopsy we harvested 10 non-diseased external iliac arteries of aged subjects (52-87 yrs).

A layer-specific three-dimensional model for the simulation of balloon angioplasty using magnetic resonance imaging and mechanical testing.

A detailed understanding of the mechanical procedure of balloon angioplasty requires three-dimensional (3D) modeling and efficient numerical simulations. We have developed a 3D model for eight distinct arterial components associated with specific mechanical responses. The 3D geometrical model is based on in vitro magnetic resonance imaging of a human stenotic postmortem artery and is represented by nonuniform rational B-spline surfaces.

A three-dimensional finite element model for arterial clamping.

Clamp induced injuries of the arterial wall may determine the outcome of surgical procedures. Thus, it is important to investigate the underlying mechanical effects. We present a three-dimensional finite element model, which allows the study of the mechanical response of an artery-treated as a two-layer tube-during arterial clamping.

Mechanics of the human femoral adventitia including the high-pressure response.

Adventitial mechanics were studied on the basis of adventitial tube tests and associated stress analyses utilizing a thin-walled model. Inflation tests of 11 nonstenotic human femoral arteries (79.3 +/- 8.