Haemodynamics in a patient-specific intracranial aneurysm according to experimental and numerical approaches: A comparison of PIV, CFD and PC-MRI

Background: The haemodynamics determined by different approaches for studying fluid dynamics - i.e. computational fluid dynamics (CFD), particle image velocimetry (PIV), and phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) - have rarely been thoroughly compared; nor have the factors that affect accuracy and precision in each method. As each method has its own advantages and limitations, this knowledge is important for future studies to be able to achieve valid analyses of fluid flows. Objective: To gauge the capacity of these methods for analysing aneurysmal flows, we compared the haemodynamic behaviours determined by each method within a patient-specific aneurysm model. Methods: An in vitro silicone aneurysm model was fabricated for PIV and PC-MRI, and an in silico aneurysm model with the same geometry was reconstructed for CFD. With the same fluid model prepared numerically and physically, CFD, PIV and PC-MRI were performed to study aneurysmal haemodynamics. Results: 2D velocity vectors and magnitudes show good agreement between PIV and CFD, and 3D flow patterns show good similarity between PC-MRI and CFD. Conclusions: These findings give confidence to future haemodynamic studies using CFD technology. For the first time, the morphological inconsistency between the PCMRI model and others is found to affect the measurement of local flow patterns.