Computational Modeling of Human Head Model for Correlation Study of Cerebrospinal Fluid and Tumor

Abstract

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) plays a pivotal role in regulating homeostasis and maintaining intracranial pressures (ICP) in human brain. Under histological condition such as brain tumor, CSF flow can be disturbed resulting in increase or decrease in ICP. Current common techniques available to monitor ICP requires an invasive procedure, where a catheter is inserted into human brain to study CSF flow and ICP. However, in the recent decade, focus is shifting from invasive procedures to non-invasive techniques using computational modeling. Current research aims to develop a computational model to study the effect of brain tumor growth on the flow on CSF in human brain. Proposed method invokes the use of Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) to consider for the tumor-ventricular wall interaction on CSF flow. Simulation is carried for two cases. One scenario, models the normal case wherein no tumor is present in the patient, while second scenario considers the tumor specific patient. Results obtained shows that there is considerable change in flow parameters for a tumor patient. A mean rise of 74.23% in CSF velocity indicates that flow profile is largely affected due to external forces of tumor. Findings suggest that taking deformable character of ventricular walls is a necessary parameter in modeling CSF flow mechanics in the brain ventricles. Furthermore, we also conclude that compressive forces of brain tumor on ventricular walls can significantly influence the outcome of CSF flow in cranium and must be addressed in patients in clinical care.