A Spatiotemporal exploration and 3D modeling of blood flow in healthy carotid artery bifurcation from two modalities: Ultrasound-Doppler and phase contrast MRI

Arij Debbich; Asma Ben Abdallah; Mezri Maatouk; Badii Hmida; Monica Sigovan; Patrick Clarysse; Mohamed Hédi Bedoui

doi:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.103644

A Spatiotemporal exploration and 3D modeling of blood flow in healthy carotid artery bifurcation from two modalities: Ultrasound-Doppler and phase contrast MRI

Comput Biol Med. 2020 Mar:118:103644. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.103644. Epub 2020 Feb 7.

Authors

Arij Debbich¹, Asma Ben Abdallah², Mezri Maatouk³, Badii Hmida⁴, Monica Sigovan⁵, Patrick Clarysse⁶, Mohamed Hédi Bedoui⁷

Affiliations

¹ LTIM: Laboratory of Technology and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Monastir, Tunisia; National School of Engineers of Sfax, University of Sfax, Tunisia. Electronic address: arij.debbich@gmail.com.
² LTIM: Laboratory of Technology and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Monastir, Tunisia. Electronic address: assoumaba@yahoo.com.
³ Medical Imaging Department, CHU Fattouma Bourguiba, Monastir, Tunisia. Electronic address: m.mezri@gmail.com.
⁴ Medical Imaging Department, CHU Fattouma Bourguiba, Monastir, Tunisia. Electronic address: hmidabadii@gmail.com.
⁵ Univ Lyon, INSA-Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UJM-Saint Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, CREATIS UMR 5220, U1206, F-69621, LYON, France. Electronic address: monica.sigovan@creatis.insa-lyon.fr.
⁶ Univ Lyon, INSA-Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UJM-Saint Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, CREATIS UMR 5220, U1206, F-69621, LYON, France. Electronic address: patrick.clarysse@creatis.insa-lyon.fr.
⁷ LTIM: Laboratory of Technology and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Monastir, Tunisia. Electronic address: MedHedi.Bedoui@fmm.rnu.tn.

PMID: 32174315
DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.103644

Abstract

In the present study, we investigated the velocity profile over the carotid bifurcation in ten healthy volunteers by combining velocity measurements from two imaging modalities (PC-MRI and US-Doppler) and hemodynamic modeling in order to determine the optimal combination for the most realistic velocity estimation. The workflow includes data acquisition, velocity profile extraction at three sites (CCA, ECA and ICA), the arterial geometrical model reconstruction, a mesh generation and a rheological modeling. The results showed that US-Doppler measurements yielded higher velocity values as compared to PC-MRI (about 26% shift in CCA, 52% in ECA and 53% in ICA). This implies higher simulated velocities based on US-Doppler inlet as compared to simulated velocities based on PC-MRI inlet. Overall, PC-MRI inlet based simulations are closer to measurements than US-Doppler inlet based simulations. Moreover, the measured velocities showed that blood flow keeps a parabolic sectional profile distal from CCA, ECA and ICA, while being quite disturbed in the carotid sinus with a significant decrease in magnitude making this site very prone to atherosclerosis.

Keywords: Carotid bifurcation; Computational hemodynamics; Normal blood flow; PC-MRI; US Doppler.

MeSH terms

Blood Flow Velocity
Carotid Artery, Common* / diagnostic imaging
Hemodynamics*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Ultrasonography