Numerical investigation of ultrasound-induced acoustic streaming and shear stress for blood clot manipulation

Venous thromboembolism affects over 10 million people each year, and research indicates that the mortality rate from hemorrhagic stroke is reaching 21%, and the disability rate is 41%. These statistics underscore the critical importance of early diagnosis and prompt therapeutic intervention to improve patient outcomes and mitigate the overall burden of the disease. This work aims to use computational simulation to model how acoustic waves affect blood clot disintegration inside blood vessels. Analysis was conducted to determine the effects of acoustic pressure, frequency, and the position of the transducer on the generation of acoustic streaming velocity near the thrombus surface. The suggested numerical model successfully generated several shear stress values, the highest of which was 10.894 Pa above the clot surface, due to acoustic streaming. This value is sufficient to cause thrombus fragmentation, as it exceeds the minimal threshold needed for clot disintegration, which is 4.1 Pa. Additionally, ultrasound was applied to thicker vessels, and the initial shear stress was observed to decrease to 2.6915 Pa. To increase this stress, the ultrasound parameters were adjusted, successfully raising the shear stress to 2.9763 Pa. This demonstrates that shear stress may have an indirect effect on clots. Realistic models, changeable properties, and experimental validation are necessary for future research.