High-Resolution Flow Investigations in Membrane Lungs for Understanding Shear-Induced Blood Clot Formation
摘要
Complex blood flow phenomena in membrane lungs (MLs) play a crucial role in intra-device clot formation and the occurrence of thromboembolic events. At present, however, the local flow conditions within an ML are not yet sufficiently known. The aim was to gain a deeper understanding of local flow regimes inside MLs by performing highly resolved computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of generic and native fiber mat bundles. Straight cylinders with a diameter of 380 \(\upmu \) m in parallel arrangement were the foundation of the generic model. For validation, a method for reconstructing a native geometry from a microcomputed tomography ( \(\upmu \) CT) scan was established, with both models used for CFD. While the generic model showed a symmetrical flow regime without indicating any pathological flow, the native model did show an irregular fiber arrangement and no symmetrical flow regime. In conclusion, the fiber arrangement significantly affects the local flow regimes inside MLs.