Modelling combined intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischaemic stroke: Understanding the relationship between stent retriever configuration and clot lysis mechanisms
File(s)life-11-01271-v2.pdf (4.53 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Manchester, Emily
Roi, Dylan
Gu, Boram
Xu, Xiao
Lobotesis, Kyriakos
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: Combined intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy (IVT-MT) is a common treatment in acute ischaemic stroke, however the interaction between IVT and MT from a physiological standpoint is poorly understood. In this pilot study, we conduct numerical simulations of combined IVT-MT with various idealised stent retriever configurations to evaluate performance in terms of complete recanalisation times and lysis patterns. Methods: A 3D patient-specific geometry of a terminal internal carotid artery with anterior and middle cerebral arteries is reconstructed, and a thrombus is artificially implanted in the MCA branch. Various idealised stent retriever configurations are implemented by varying stent diameter and stent placement, and a configuration without a stent retriever provides a baseline for comparison. A previously validated multi-level model of thrombolysis is used, which incorporates blood flow, drug transport, and fibrinolytic reactions within a fibrin thrombus. Results: Fastest total recanalisation was achieved in the thrombus without a stent retriever, with lysis times increasing with stent retriever diameter. Two mechanisms of clot lysis were established: axial and radial permeation. Axial permeation from the clot front was the primary mechanism of lysis in all configurations, as it facilitated increased protein binding with fibrin fibres. Introducing a stent retriever channel allowed for radial permeation, which occurred at the fluid-thrombus interface, although lysis was much slower in the radial direction because of weaker secondary velocities. Conclusions: Numerical models can be used to better understand the complex physiological relationship between IVT and MT. Two different mechanisms of lysis were established, providing a basis towards improving the efficacy of combined treatments.
Date Issued
2021-11-20
Date Acceptance
2021-11-18
Citation
Life, 2021, 11 (11)
ISSN
2075-1729
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Life
Volume
11
Issue
11
Copyright Statement
© 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
License URL
Subjects
blood flow
carotid artery
cerebral artery
computational fluid dynamics
intravenous thrombolysis
mechanical thrombectomy
numerical model
stent retriever
stroke
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 1271