4 research outputs found
Quasi-static imaged-based immersed boundary-finite element model of human left ventricle in diastole
SUMMARY:
Finite stress and strain analyses of the heart provide insight into the biomechanics of myocardial function and dysfunction. Herein, we describe progress toward dynamic patient-specific models of the left ventricle using an immersed boundary (IB) method with a finite element (FE) structural mechanics model. We use a structure-based hyperelastic strain-energy function to describe the passive mechanics of the ventricular myocardium, a realistic anatomical geometry reconstructed from clinical magnetic resonance images of a healthy human heart, and a rule-based fiber architecture. Numerical predictions of this IB/FE model are compared with results obtained by a commercial FE solver. We demonstrate that the IB/FE model yields results that are in good agreement with those of the conventional FE model under diastolic loading conditions, and the predictions of the LV model using either numerical method are shown to be consistent with previous computational and experimental data. These results are among the first to analyze the stress and strain predictions of IB models of ventricular mechanics, and they serve both to verify the IB/FE simulation framework and to validate the IB/FE model. Moreover, this work represents an important step toward using such models for fully dynamic fluid–structure interaction simulations of the heart
Left Ventricular Fluid Mechanics: the long way from theoretical models to clinical applications
\u2014The flow inside the left ventricle is characterized
by the formation of vortices that smoothly accompany blood
from the mitral inlet to the aortic outlet. Computational fluid
dynamics permitted to shed some light on the fundamental
processes involved with vortex motion. More recently,
patient-specific numerical simulations are becoming an
increasingly feasible tool that can be integrated with the
developing imaging technologies. The existing computational
methods are reviewed in the perspective of their potential role
as a novel aid for advanced clinical analysis. The current
results obtained by simulation methods either alone or in
combination with medical imaging are summarized. Open
problems are highlighted and perspective clinical applications
are discussed