Electrochemical surface shear rate evaluation in models of the renal artery.

Electrochemical measurements of surface shear rate were done in two renal artery models with 45 and 90-deg take-off angles to determine the extent to which the parent tube flow rate, flow division and branch shape influence flow at sites for atherogenesis. The dependence of surface shear rate on each of these independent variables was nonlinear; mathematical relationships which could predict surface shear rate at other flow rates, flow division ratios or vessel shapes did not emerge. The results of this work along with reports of others, which demonstrate great variability in location and extent of atherosclerotic lesions, support the conclusion that pathological studies and flow studies should be done simultaneously if the role of flow in atherogenesis is to be elucidated.