A computational framework for pharmaco-mechanical interactions in arterial walls using parallel monolithic domain decomposition methods

TL;DR

This paper introduces a computational framework that models the effects of antihypertensive drugs on arterial wall mechanics, utilizing advanced parallel domain decomposition methods for scalable simulations.

Contribution

It develops a novel simulation approach combining a modified smooth muscle model with parallel finite element methods and preconditioners for efficient analysis of drug effects on arteries.

Findings

Simulation confirms increased lumen diameter due to drug effects

Decreased arterial contraction rate with calcium channel blockers

Demonstrates strong parallel scalability of the computational method

Abstract

A computational framework is presented to numerically simulate the effects of antihypertensive drugs, in particular calcium channel blockers, on the mechanical response of arterial walls. A stretch-dependent smooth muscle model by Uhlmann and Balzani is modified to describe the interaction of pharmacological drugs and the inhibition of smooth muscle activation. The coupled deformation-diffusion problem is then solved using the finite element software FEDDLib and overlapping Schwarz preconditioners from the Trilinos package FROSch. These preconditioners include highly scalable parallel GDSW (generalized Dryja-Smith-Widlund) and RDSW (reduced GDSW) preconditioners. Simulation results show the expected increase in the lumen diameter of an idealized artery due to the drug-induced reduction of smooth muscle contraction, as well as a decrease in the rate of arterial contraction in the presence of calcium channel blockers. Strong and weak parallel scalability of the resulting computational implementation are also analyzed.