Investigation of factors influencing pathological tortuosity of the carotid artery: hemodynamics, morphometry, and tissue mechanics

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Leonid Goubergrits
• Subject Area: Fluid Mechanics
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 570785067

Pathological tortuosity, coiling and kinking (TCK) of vessels are associated with various diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and hypertension. In carotid arteries, these pathologies are associated with disorders of cerebral circulation and, among other things, with strokes. A stroke is a circulatory disorder in which certain areas of the brain suddenly fail. A severe stroke is often fatal. However, the factors and mechanisms responsible for the genesis and progression of TCK are unknown and not understood until now. The aim of the project is to investigate the origin and course of the pathological tortuosity of the carotid bifurcation. Understanding the pathology helps to improve the diagnosis and avoid or reduce the risk of ischemic stroke. An interaction between hemodynamics, shape and tissue properties plays a crucial role in the development of pathological changes in arteries. A combination of patient-specific hemodynamic modeling, statistical analysis, experimental investigations of the vessel wall and tissue model development will allow us to study TCK development. The general hypothesis is that the development of TCK resembles that of atherosclerosis: the individual vessel shape leads to local blood flow abnormalities, resulting in endothelial cell dysfunction associated with pathologic vascular remodeling. As a result, atherosclerotic deposits and thrombi develop, among other things, which lead to a disruption of the circulatory system. To understand the pathology, one must examine all the key factors of the problem. The interdisciplinary approach that combines different methods of medical image data acquisition, patient-specific modeling and ex-vivo experiments seems to have the greatest perspective today. In order to investigate the interaction between blood flow, vessel wall and vessel shape, one then needs the approach of fluid-structure-interaction (FSI) modeling. First, it is necessary to generate the digital database of the patient-specific geometries. This data is used to create statistical shape models to study the shape variances. Second, in vitro mechanical tests of the vessel wall samples will be performed to develop material models for FSI modeling. Third, we plan to perform CFD simulations and FSI modeling to analyze hemodynamic parameters and quantify the influence of biomechanical factors. Finally, an iterative FSI model course of the pathology must be developed. This multidisciplinary proposal helps to bridge the gaps between material science, material and computational modeling, patient-specific simulations and medical data, which are currently impeding translation of engineering approaches to medical applications. Moreover, the output of this project increases the knowledge of material properties of carotid arteries in health and disease by applying state-of-theart experiments and modeling approaches. The results can be used to improve diagnostics and treatments.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr.-Ing. Gerhard A. Holzapfel