ABSTRACT
Objective To establish the theoretical model for morphology of lipid droplets adhering to inner vascular wall, so as to provide the theoretical model for the study and analysis of the overall morphology of lipid droplets on inner vascular wall of patients with fat embolism. MethodsThe model of the droplet with variable radius on inner wall of the cylindrical tube was established to describe morphology of lipid droplets on inner vascular wall, and accuracy of the theoretical model was verified by Surface Evolver (SE) software simulation results. According to the theoretical model, the influencing patterns of lipid droplet volume and contact angle on dimensionless adhesion area Sb0 and blockage ratio κ of lipid droplets in blood vessels were analyzed. Results The theoretical model could predict contour parameters of adhesion morphology for lipid droplets on inner vascular wall, including the height and arc radius of lipid droplet at azimuth angle of 0 and π/2. The relative errors between contour parameters obtained from the theoretical model and corresponding parameters obtained from the SE simulation were smaller than 10%. For lipid droplets with the same dimensionless volume V0, Sb0 of inner vascular wall decreased with contact angle increasing, and blockage ratio κ increased with contact angle increasing. At the same contact angle, the smaller V0 , the smaller Sb0 and κ would be. Conclusions The established theoretical model with variable radius can well describe morphological characteristics of lipid droplets on inner vascular wall. The influening pattern of volume, contact angle and other parameters on height, adhesion area and cross-sectional area of lipid droplets can be accurately and quickly obtained through the theoretical model, indicating that the larger the contact angle of lipid droplets or the smaller the dimensionless volume, the lower the probability of embolism. The research findings provide theoretical support for the analysis on related diseases.