Personalized computational modeling of vascular access creation

To be able to connect haemodialysis patients to an artificial kidney a connection is surgically made between a coronary artery and vein in the arm (AVF). The exact location of this new vessel access is crucial for success. If an AVF is not made on the location that is optimal for the patient, this can result in a too low blood stream, which makes the vessel access not usable for haemodialysis, or, on the opposite, in a too high blood stream which results in heart problems or insufficient blood flow in the hand. Additional interventions are then necessary to realize a usable vessel access. The researchers developed a computer model that can predict the blood stream after placement of an AVF and that can thus help select the optimal location. The computer model was capable of selecting in 16 out of 21 patients before the operation the same vessel access as a very experienced surgeon. The model could be valuable during the determination of the optimal AVF location, especially for an inexperienced surgeon.