A 3D simulation of the formation of primary platelet thrombi based on a hybrid computational model

Authors: CHAOQING MA, OUBONG GWUN

Abstract: Recently, the study of thrombosis simulation based on computational models has been one of the most popular research areas. In this paper, a 3D simulation method based on a hybrid model is proposed for platelet thrombus formation. The flow of platelets is modeled in a macroscale submodel using Navier--Stokes equations and the physiological processes such as adhesion and aggregation of platelets are modeled in a microscale submodel. In the adhesion and aggregation phases, the attraction of platelets due to blood coagulation factors (von Willebrand factor) is modeled using the external force, and the conversion from unstable aggregation to stable aggregation is modeled using the increase in local viscosity. The proposed model is implemented and is applied to the 3D simulation of platelet thrombus formation. The flow of platelets and the transformation from normal platelet to thrombus are well shown by the 3D view of the simulation. The velocity field and viscosity field are also rendered to observe their changes in the process of thrombus formation. In the simulation, as the increase in blood velocity, the primary thrombus grows rapidly before a velocity threshold, and then the growth rate decreases. It concurs with the experimental results in vivo.

Keywords: Platelet thrombus formation, three-dimensional simulation, hybrid model, level sets

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