Effect of swirling blood flow on vortex formation at post-stenosis

Various clinical observations reported that swirling blood flow is a normal physiological flow pattern in various vasculatures. The swirling flow has beneficial effects on blood circulation through the blood vessels. It enhances oxygen transfer and reduces low-density lipoprotein concentration in the blood vessel by enhancing cross-plane mixing of the blood. However, the fluid-dynamic roles of the swirling flow are not yet fully understood. In this study, inhibition of material deposition at the post-stenosis region by the swirling flow was observed. To reveal the underlying fluid-dynamic characteristics, pathline flow visualization and time-resolved particle image velocimetry measurements were conducted. Results showed that the swirling inlet flow increased the development of vortices at near wall region of the post-stenosis, which can suppress further development of stenosis by enhancing transport and mixing of the blood flow. The fluid-dynamic characteristics obtained in this study would be useful for improving hemodynamic characteristics of vascular grafts and stents in which the stenosis frequently occurred. Moreover, the time-resolved particle image velocimetry measurement technique and vortex identification method employed in this study would be useful for investigating the fluid-dynamic effects of the swirling flow on various vascular environments.