Autoregulation models for cerebral haemodynamics

Giacomini, Riccardo

Autoregulation models for cerebral haemodynamics

Monday 21st July 2008

Formaggia, L.

Peirò, J.

The objective of this work is to assess a blood flow model for the human cardiovascular system, already present at Imperial College London, and to examine the biological responses of the system to sudden arterial pressure drops. In particular, much of the attention is focused on the mechanisms in the cerebral circulation which stand behind the processes happening when the mean arterial blood pressure changes abruptly, a phenomenon known as autoregulation system. Firstly, a calibration process is carried out to adapt the parameters of the blood flow model, developed at Imperial College London, to a patient-specific geometry of the cerebral arterial network and prove that the results are close to in vivo data. Several mathematical autoregulation model are then analysed and assessed to underline advantages and possible setbacks. Finally the two most significant models are implemented, examined in terms of sensitivity to a change in their parameters and the results are presented. Key words: cerebral blood flow, autoregulation, haemodynamics