FE SIMULATIONS OF THE STATIC DEFORMED STATE OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC VESSELS BASED ON OCT IMAGE DATA

Abstract

This study focuses on the biomechanical modeling of atherosclerotic vessels to predict the risk of plaque rupture, a primary cause of acute cardiovascular events. A methodology integrating clinical Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is proposed. An automated Python-based algorithm was developed to reconstruct patient-specific geometries of vessel layers (intima, media, adventitia) and plaque components directly from OCT images.
Numerical simulations were conducted for three different plaques cases under physiological pressure. The results revealed that maximum stresses are consistently localized at the plaque shoulders. The proposed approach provides a quantitative tool for assessing plaque vulnerability beyond geometric analysis.