Chemo-mechanical modeling of smooth muscle cell activation for the simulation of arterial walls under changing blood pressure.

In this paper, a novel chemo-mechanical model is proposed for the description of the stretch-dependent chemical processes known as Bayliss effect and their impact on the active contraction in vascular smooth muscle. These processes are responsible for the adaptive reaction of arterial walls to changing blood pressure by which the blood vessels actively support the heart in providing sufficient blood supply for varying demands in the supplied tissues. The model is designed to describe two different stretch-dependent mechanisms observed in smooth muscle cells (SMCs): a calcium-dependent and a calcium-independent contraction.

Fluid-structure interaction simulation of tissue degradation and its effects on intra-aneurysm hemodynamics.

Tissue degradation plays a crucial role in vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and aneurysms. Computational modeling of vascular hemodynamics incorporating both arterial wall mechanics and tissue degradation has been a challenging task. In this study, we propose a novel finite element method-based approach to model the microscopic degradation of arterial walls and its interaction with blood flow.

On the Potential Self-Amplification of Aneurysms Due to Tissue Degradation and Blood Flow Revealed From FSI Simulations.

Tissue degradation plays a crucial role in the formation and rupture of aneurysms. Using numerical computer simulations, we study the combined effects of blood flow and tissue degradation on intra-aneurysm hemodynamics. Our computational analysis reveals that the degradation-induced changes of the time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) and oscillatory shear index (OSI) within the aneurysm dome are inversely correlated.