Modeling blood flow circulation in intracranial arterial networks: a comparative 3D/1D simulation study.

We compare results from numerical simulations of pulsatile blood flow in two patient-specific intracranial arterial networks using one-dimensional (1D) and three-dimensional (3D) models. Specifically, we focus on the pressure and flowrate distribution at different segments of the network computed by the two models. Results obtained with 1D and 3D models with rigid walls show good agreement in massflow distribution at tens of arterial junctions and also in pressure drop along the arteries. The 3D simulations with the rigid walls predict higher amplitude of the flowrate and pressure temporal oscillations than the 1D simulations with compliant walls at various segments even for small time-variations in the arterial cross-sectional areas. Sensitivity of the flow and pressure with respect to variation in the elasticity parameters is investigated with the 1D model.