Predictive Study of Velocimetry in the Coronary Artery after Iodinated Contrast Agent Injection

This study aims to determine the retention time of iodinated contrast agents (ICA) in the coronary artery. The mechanical aspect of ICA displacement was studied in order to better understand the effect of these products on the inner wall of the artery of patients with coronary artery stenosis, undergoing repeated imaging examinations with iodinated contrast agents. ICA flow and ICA and blood flow in the artery were modelled. The fluid was regarded to be viscous, incompressible and Newtonian. Blood flow was presumed to be unidirectional, laminar and unstationary. Iodine flow rate and retention time were calculated using the Runge-Kutta 4th order method programmed in C++ and MatLab R2013a language. The results showed that for coronary artery CT-scans, ICA retention time is 1 minute 40 seconds and for coronary arteriography it is between 2.4 and 3.6 seconds. The values calculated were compared to theoretical values and to clinical observations. The results enabled us to validate our model.