Particle Residence Time Measurements in a Left Coronary Artery Bifurcation Model

It has been suggested that the length of time over which a blood borne particle resides near a site at the artery wall may be important in the genesis of atherosclerosis. To evaluate this “particle residence time” (PRT) in a relevant arterial geometry, a three dimensional particle tracking technique is applied to a left coronary artery bifurcation model under steady flow conditions. Three dimensional particle paths and particle residence time at the left circumflex (LCX) and the left anterior descending (LAD) arteries are determined. A comparison with mean wall shear stress obtained by laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) data in this model shows that PRT tends to follow the inverse of total wall shear stress (i.e., the combination of axial and circumferential wall shear stresses).