Wall Shear Stress simulations in a CT based human abdominal aortic model

Abnormal Wall Shear Stress (WSS) distributions may be a predictor for the risk of development or rupture of an aneurysm and a tool to control the efficiency of the therapy. In this work, we present a method for the computation of WSS based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The approach is applied to a CT based abdominal aortic model and realistic boundary conditions are considered based on MR flow measurements. WSS simulations are computed using the CFD program Fluent. The simulation results show realistic mean WSS distributions and provide a quantitative description of the stress conditions in the aortic model. The mean range of the computed values is compatible with that obtained by other in vivo and in vitro methods , . The method provides a numerical approach for the computation of WSS. However, further development and validation should be investigated in order to reach computations that can be implemented clinically.