Construction of a physical model of the human carotid artery based upon invivo magnetic resonance images

A method is described for construction of an in vitro flow model based on i n vivo measurements of the lumen geometry of the human carotid bifurcation. A large-scale physical model of the vessel lumen it-as constructed using f used deposition modeling (a rapid prototyping technique) based oil magnetic resonance (MR) images of the carotid bifurcation acquired in it healthy vo lunteer. The lumen negative was then used to construct a flow model for exp erimental studies that examined the hemodynamic environment of subject-spec ific geometry and flow conditions. The physical model also supplements phys ician insight into the three-dimensional geometry of the arterial segment, complementing the two-dimensional images obtained by MR. Study of the speci fic geometry and flow conditions in patients with vascular disease may cont ribute to our understanding of the relationship between their hemodynamic e nvironment and conditions that lead to the development and progression of a rterial disease.