Two-phase flow in a catheterized artery with atherosclerosis

We consider the problem of blood flow in a catheterized artery and in the presence of atherosclerosis, which is chosen based on the available experimental data. The atherosclerosis is a condition where an artery wall thickens as a result of fatty materials such as cholesterol. The use of catheter is of immense importance as a standard tool for diagnosis and treatment in a patience whose artery is affected adversely by the presence of atherosclerosis within the artery. The blood flow in the arterial tube is represented by a two-phase model composing a suspension of erythrocytes (red cells) in plasma. The coupled differential equations for both fluid (plasma) and particles (red cells) are solved theoretically subjected to reasonable modeling and approximations. The important quantities such as plasma speed, velocity of red cells, blood pressure force, impedance (blood flow resistance) and the wall shear stress are computed for different values of the catheter size, axial location of atherosclerosis and the hematocrit due to the red cells-plasma combination of the blood flow system.