Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics in a Simplified Model of the Human Ventricular System

摘要

This Study investigates the flow of the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) inside a simplified model of the human ventricular system. Both computational and experimental results are explored. Due to the complexity of the real geometry, a simplified three-dimensional (3-D) model of the ventricular system was constructed with the same volume as the real geometry. The numerical study was conducted using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package FLUENT-6. Different CFD cases were solved for different flow rates range between 100-500 ml/day. A scaled up to 4:1 physical model with the same geometry as the computational model, was built. A diluted dye was injected into the physical model and visualized. From the CFD studies it was found that the flow pattern of the CSF is structured and has a 3-D motion. Recirculating motion takes place in the lateral ventricles in the form of small eddies at each plane. Experimentally, the dye reverse motion noticed confirms the CFD findings about the presence of a recirculating motion.