Computational modelling of the embolization process for the treatment of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are neurological defects in which the arterial and venous systems are connected directly, with no intervening capillaries. The absence of capillaries allows blood at high pressure to enter the venous system directly, and so a venous haemorrhage or a stroke is possible. AVMs can be treated by embolization in which a glue is injected into a local artery with the aim of diverting the blood away from the AVM and so reducing the risk of haemorrhage. The present study introduces a novel mathematical model for the embolization procedure by considering a two-phase fluid dynamical approach for the glue/blood interaction. The two fluids are treated as incompressible and viscous, and their interaction is modelled using the volume-of-fluid method, with the aim of analysing the dynamics of the glue after injection and examining potential blocking strategies. The results obtained here include surface tension effects and point to advantageous placement, blocking and effective solidification in particular.