Quantifying Turbulent Wall Shear Stress in an Arteriovenous Graft Using Large Eddy Simulation

Hemodialysis patients require a vascular access capable of accommodating the high blood flow rates required for effective dialysis treatment. The arteriovenous graft is one such access. However, this access type suffers from reduced one year primary & secondary patency rates of 59–90% and 50–82% respectively [1]. The main contributor to the failure of this access is stenosis via the development of intimal hyperplasia (IH) that predominately occurs at the venous anastomosis. It is hypothesized that the resulting transitional to turbulent flow regime within the venous anastomosis contributes to the development of IH. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of this transitional to turbulent behavior on wall shear stress within the venous anastomosis via the use of large eddy simulation.