Isogeometric Modeling of Carotid Artery Stenting: a Comparison With Classic Finite Element Approach

Abstract eng:
Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) has recently emerged as a cost-effective alternative to classic isoparametric Finite Element Analysis (FEA) [1]. The main feature of the method consists of using typical CAD basis functions for both geometric description and variable approximation. This implies the ability to describe exactly the computational domain geometry throughout the analysis process, including, at the same time, the chance to control the basis functions continuity. These features led to a wide variety of approaches able to treat efficiently many critical aspects of FEA (e.g., analysis of nearly incompressibile solids and novel contact formulations [2,3,4]). Starting from these results, we apply this approach to a biomechanical application such Carotid Artery Stenting (CAS). CAS is a procedure for the treatment of atherosclerotic carotid arteries which restores the vessel patency by enlarging the narrowed lumen by the expansion of a metallic mesh (the stent). From the computational viewpoint, CAS procedure can be considered as a quasi-static simulation involving large deformations and complex contact problems. We use an estende version of the general finite element program FEAP with IGA capabilities as a solver for the IGA-CAS, while we used standard FEAP for FEA-CAS. The Carotid Artery geometry is derived from patient-specific DICOM images and the stent model resembles a commercially available device. The analysis is displacement-controlled and, concerning to IGA-CAS, the contact algorithm proposed by De Lorenzis et al. [4] is used to handle the interactions between all model components. The aim of this work is to compare the performance of IGA and FEA applied to CAS, in terms of simulation efficiency and contact pressure resolution.

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