71th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 18, 2018 — November 20, 2018)

V0084: Art-inspired visualization and sonification of brain aneurysm blood flow dynamics

Authors

• Thangam Natarajan, Biomedical Simulation Laboratory, University of Toronto
• Daniel MacDonald, Biomedical Simulation Laboratory, University of Toronto
• Peter Coppin, Perceptual Artifacts Laboratory, OCAD University
• David Steinman, Biomedical Simulation Laboratory, University of Toronto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2018.GFM.V0084

Blood flow in brain aneurysms can exhibit highly complicated flow patterns that are difficult to quantify and visualize. Research suggests the presence of transient, turbulent-like flow instabilities at a range of frequencies from 10s to 100s of Hz, some of which are associated with clinical reports of aneurysm vibration or “bruits”, and which may promote aneurysm growth or rupture. To isolate these instabilities and their frequency content, a simple temporal filtering technique is applied to the velocity fluctuations corresponding to different frequency bands. Vortex cores associated with the different frequency bands are then visualized together, using distinct illustration-inspired schemes for each to highlight their spatiotemporal interactions. Especially when augmented by velocity-driven sonifications, these reveal the highly aneurysm-specific nature of blood flow instabilities that would otherwise be hidden by conventional visualizations alone