Computational simulation of the adaptive capacity of vein grafts in response to increased pressure

Vein maladaptation, leading to poor long-term patency, is a serious clinical problem in patients receiving coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs) or undergoing related clinical procedures that subject veins to elevated blood flow and pressure. We propose a computational model of venous adaptation to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of biomechanical engineering Vol. 137; no. 3
Main Authors Ramachandra, Abhay B, Sankaran, Sethuraman, Humphrey, Jay D, Marsden, Alison L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.03.2015
Subjects
Adaptation, Physiological
Algorithms
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Blood Pressure
Blood Vessel Prosthesis
Computer Simulation
Mice
Vascular Remodeling
Veins - pathology
Veins - physiology
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Summary:Vein maladaptation, leading to poor long-term patency, is a serious clinical problem in patients receiving coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs) or undergoing related clinical procedures that subject veins to elevated blood flow and pressure. We propose a computational model of venous adaptation to altered pressure based on a constrained mixture theory of growth and remodeling (G&R). We identify constitutive parameters that optimally match biaxial data from a mouse vena cava, then numerically subject the vein to altered pressure conditions and quantify the extent of adaptation for a biologically reasonable set of bounds for G&R parameters. We identify conditions under which a vein graft can adapt optimally and explore physiological constraints that lead to maladaptation. Finally, we test the hypothesis that a gradual, rather than a step, change in pressure will reduce maladaptation. Optimization is used to accelerate parameter identification and numerically evaluate hypotheses of vein remodeling.
ISSN:1528-8951
DOI:10.1115/1.4029021