ABSTRACT
This chapter describes both the external physical environment and intraplatelet dynamics that guide platelet motion, deformation and binding. It explores several single-scale and multiscale continuum- and particle-based models developed to describe and predict various phenomena leading up to thrombus formation. The chapter presents a brief overview of platelet dynamics and physical response to physiologic and pathologic flow conditions as observed in vitro and in vivo, as well as some of the numerical models developed to describe and predict flow-mediated prothrombotic events. In pathological conditions generated in diseased blood vessels and prosthetic cardiovascular devices, platelets are exposed to an extreme range of shear rates and stresses that promote thrombosis. Low post-stenotic perfusion pressure promotes blood viscosity, platelet microemboli, and activated leukocytes to reduce flow in the microcirculation, triggering myocardial infarction. Blood flowing through the vasculature is characterized as Poiseuille flow, with a parabolic velocity profile that peaks at the center of the blood vessel.
