  In this work, we investigate how concepts from medical flow visualization can
be applied to enhance stroke prevention diagnostics. Our focus lies on carotid
stenoses, i.e., local narrowings of the major brain-supplying arteries, which
are a frequent cause of stroke. Carotid surgery can reduce the stroke risk
associated with stenoses, however, the procedure entails risks itself.
Therefore, a thorough assessment of each case is necessary. In routine
diagnostics, the morphology and hemodynamics of an afflicted vessel are
separately analyzed using angiography and sonography, respectively. Blood flow
simulations based on computational fluid dynamics could enable the visual
integration of hemodynamic and morphological information and provide a higher
resolution on relevant parameters. We identify and abstract the tasks involved
in the assessment of stenoses and investigate how clinicians could derive
relevant insights from carotid blood flow simulations. We adapt and refine a
combination of techniques to facilitate this purpose, integrating
spatiotemporal navigation, dimensional reduction, and contextual embedding. We
evaluated and discussed our approach with an interdisciplinary group of medical
practitioners, fluid simulation and flow visualization researchers. Our initial
findings indicate that visualization techniques could promote usage of carotid
blood flow simulations in practice.
