Numerical assessment of device-related thrombus formation triggered by the contact system

Thrombosis is a major concern in blood-coated medical devices. In the present study, pro-coagulant reactions including the contact activation system are coupled with a fluid solver as well as a recently proposed thrombus formation model. The resulting biochemical/fluid model is applied to a backward facing step configuration, a flow configuration that frequently appears in medical devices. Simulations show that the contact system induces a large concentration of thrombin is the recirculation zone without the need of an a priori knowledge of the thrombus location. Platelets are then chemically activated and generate a thrombus whose both position and growth rate are in good agreement with the experimental data available.