Fabrication of artificial arteriovenous fistula and analysis of flow field and shear stress by using μ-PIV technology

Radio-cephalic arteriovenous fistula (RC-AVF) is an operation performed to achieve vascular access for hemodialysis. Although RC-AVF is a reliable and well-known method, this technique presents high rates of early failure depending on the vessel condition. These failures are due to blood shear stress around the anastomosis site and the vascular access failure caused by thrombosis secondary to stenosis formation, as well as vascular access reocclusion after percutaneous interventions. In this work, we fabricate in vitro 3D RC-AVF by using polydimethylsiloxane and 3D printing technology to understand the underlying mechanism and predict AVF failure. Micro- Particle image velocimetry (μ-PIV) focusing on the cardiac pulse cycle is used to measure the velocity field within the artificial blood vessel. Results are confirmed by numerical simulation. Accordingly, the in vitro AVF model agrees well with the simulations. Overall, this research would provide the future possibility of using the proposed method to reduce in vivo AVF failure for various conditions.