# Multiscale Model of Thrombosis in Artificial Circulation

> **NIH NIH R01** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $714,836

## Abstract

ALL blood-wetted devices, without exaggeration, are susceptible to unintended thrombosis and
bleeding – with dire consequences. In spite of decades of clinical experience, basic research,
and computational fluid dynamics modeling, it is still virtually impossible to avoid deleterious
hematological effects without anticoagulation, or experimental trail-and-error. The unfortunate
consequence is an unacceptable rate of debilitating adverse events such as stroke and
hemorrhage. This abiding challenge has driven the PIs over the past 25+ years to pursue a
deterministic, multi-scale, multi-constituent, convection-diffusion-reaction model of thrombosis
that embraces the principle elements of Virchow’s Triad: properties of blood, character of flow,
and surface chemistry. We have made significant progress in the previous phase of this project,
and now able to predict platelet deposition with remarkable accuracy at multiple scales: from
small crevices to full-sized ventricular assist devices. We now wish to extend the thrombosis
model to include thrombus stabilization, and remodeling. Specific Aim 1 will be to extend the
model to include fibrin cross-linking, endothelialization and pannus formation. We hypothesize
that these improvements will enhance the utility of the model for simulating the stability of
adherent thrombus, hence risk of embolization, the effects of thrombolysis and the development
of neointimal surface and/or pannus growth. Specific Aim 2 will be to incorporate biochemical
pathways to simulate commonly used anticoagulation, and greatly improve its clinical
translation. Specific Aim 3 will be to demonstrate the performance of the enhanced thrombosis
model with macro-scale devices over a range of clinically relevant conditions, including a rotary
blood pump with blood-immersed bearing, a catheter blood pump, a mechanical heart valve,
and a ventricular cannula. We will perform simulations parametrically, over a range of conditions
to produce a map of “Thrombosis Threat Level” within the device as a function of hemodynamic
and hematological independent variables: flow rate, platelet reactivity/count/pre-activation, and
anticoagulation. We further intend to package the model in a user-friendly, publicly available
application to promote dissemination of this resource for both designers and practitioners to
ameliorate one of the most pernicious and abiding complications of cardiovascular devices.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10839766
- **Project number:** 5R01HL089456-13
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JAMES F. ANTAKI
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $714,836
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-02-01 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10839766

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10839766, Multiscale Model of Thrombosis in Artificial Circulation (5R01HL089456-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10839766. Licensed CC0.

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