Flow patterns in the venous sinus of pulsatile tinnitus patients with transverse sinus stenosis and underlying vortical flow as a causative factor.

Background: Transverse sinus stenosis (TSS) is commonly found in Pulsatile Tinnitus (PT) patients. Vortex flow is prominent in venous sinus with stenosis, and so it is important to determine the distribution and strength of the vortical flow to understand its influence on the occurrence of PT.

Methods: In this study, by using computational fluid dynamics for hemodynamic analysis in patient-specific geometries based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), we have investigated the blood flow within the venous sinus of 16 subjects with PT.