An acute ischaemic stroke appears when a blood clot blocks the blood flow in a cerebral artery. Intra-arterial thrombectomy, a mini-invasive procedure based on stent technology, is a mechanical available treatment to extract the clot and restore the blood circulation. After stent deployment, the clot, trapped in the stent struts, is pulled along with the stent towards a receiving catheter. Recent clinical trials have confirmed the effectiveness and safety of mechanical thrombectomy. However, the procedure requires further investigation. The aim of this study is the development of a numerical finite-element-based model of the thrombectomy procedure. In vitro thrombectomy tests are performed in different vessel geometries and one simulation for each test is carried out to verify the accuracy and reliability of the proposed numerical model. The results of the simulations confirm the efficacy of the model to replicate all the experimental setups. Clot stress and strain fields from the numerical analysis, which vary depending on the geometric features of the vessel, could be used to evaluate the possible fragmentation of the clot during the procedure. The proposed in vitro/in silico comparison aims at assessing the applicability of the numerical model and at providing validation evidence for the specific in vivo thrombectomy outcomes prediction.

当血凝块阻塞大脑动脉中的血流时，就会出现急性缺血性中风。动脉内血栓切除术是一种基于支架技术的微创手术，是一种机械可用的治疗方法，用于提取凝块并恢复血液循环。在支架展开后，被困在支架支柱中的凝块与支架一起被拉向接收导管。最近的临床试验证实了机械取栓的有效性和安全性。但是，该程序需要进一步调查。本研究的目的是开发一种基于数值有限元的血栓切除术模型。体外在不同的血管几何形状中进行血栓切除术测试，并对每个测试进行一次模拟，以验证所提出的数值模型的准确性和可靠性。模拟结果证实了模型复制所有实验设置的有效性。数值分析中的凝块应力和应变场根据血管的几何特征而变化，可用于评估手术过程中凝块可能的碎裂。所提出的体外/计算机比较旨在评估数值模型的适用性，并为特定的体内血栓切除术结果预测提供验证证据。