Feasibility Study of Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography Based on Dual-Source Computed Tomography

BACKGROUND: Adding functional features to morphological features offers a new method for non-invasive assessment of myocardial perfusion. This study aimed to explore technical routes of assessing the left coronary artery pressure gradient, wall shear stress distribution and blood flow velocity distribution, combining three-dimensional coronary model which was based on high resolution dual-source computed tomography (CT) with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. METHODS: Three cases of no obvious stenosis, mild stenosis and severe stenosis in left anterior descending (LAD) were enrolled. Images acquired on dual-source CT were input into software Mimics, ICEMCFD and FLUENT to simulate pressure gradient, wall shear stress distribution and blood flow velocity distribution. Measuring coronary enhancement ratio of coronary artery was to compare with pressure gradient. RESULTS: Results conformed to theoretical values and showed difference between normal and abnormal samples. CONCLUSIONS: The study verified essential parameters and basic techniques in blood flow numerical simulation preliminarily. It was proved feasible.