50,363 research outputs found
Outflow boundary conditions for 3D simulations of non-periodic blood flow and pressure fields in deformable arteries
The simulation of blood flow and pressure in arteries requires outflow
boundary conditions that incorporate models of downstream domains. We
previously described a coupled multidomain method to couple analytical models
of the downstream domains with 3D numerical models of the upstream vasculature.
This prior work either included pure resistance boundary conditions or
impedance boundary conditions based on assumed periodicity of the solution.
However, flow and pressure in arteries are not necessarily periodic in time due
to heart rate variability, respiration, complex transitional flow or acute
physiological changes. We present herein an approach for prescribing lumped
parameter outflow boundary conditions that accommodate transient phenomena. We
have applied this method to compute haemodynamic quantities in different
physiologically relevant cardiovascular models, including patient-specific
examples, to study non-periodic flow phenomena often observed in normal
subjects and in patients with acquired or congenital cardiovascular disease.
The relevance of using boundary conditions that accommodate transient phenomena
compared with boundary conditions that assume periodicity of the solution is
discussed
A Rapid and Computationally Inexpensive Method to Virtually Implant Current and Next-Generation Stents into Subject-Specific Computational Fluid Dynamics Models
Computational modeling is often used to quantify hemodynamic alterations induced by stenting, but frequently uses simplified device or vascular representations. Based on a series of Boolean operations, we developed an efficient and robust method for assessing the influence of current and next-generation stents on local hemodynamics and vascular biomechanics quantified by computational fluid dynamics. Stent designs were parameterized to allow easy control over design features including the number, width and circumferential or longitudinal spacing of struts, as well as the implantation diameter and overall length. The approach allowed stents to be automatically regenerated for rapid analysis of the contribution of design features to resulting hemodynamic alterations. The applicability of the method was demonstrated with patient-specific models of a stented coronary artery bifurcation and basilar trunk aneurysm constructed from medical imaging data. In the coronary bifurcation, we analyzed the hemodynamic difference between closed-cell and open-cell stent geometries. We investigated the impact of decreased strut size in stents with a constant porosity for increasing flow stasis within the stented basilar aneurysm model. These examples demonstrate the current method can be used to investigate differences in stent performance in complex vascular beds for a variety of stenting procedures and clinical scenarios
Geometry-based finite-element modeling of the electrical contact between a cultured neuron and a microelectrode
The electrical contact between a substrate embedded microelectrode and a cultured neuron depends on the geometry of the neuron-electrode interface. Interpretation and improvement of these contacts requires proper modeling of all coupling mechanisms. In literature, it is common practice to model the neuron-electrode contact using lumped circuits in which large simplifications are made in the representation of the interface geometry. In this paper, the finite-element method is used to model the neuron-electrode interface, which permits numerical solutions for a variety of interface geometries. The simulation results offer detailed spatial and temporal information about the combined electrical behavior of extracellular volume, electrode-electrolyte interface and neuronal membrane
Patient-specific simulation of stent-graft deployment within an abdominal aortic aneurysm
In this study, finite element analysis is used to simulate the surgical
deployment procedure of a bifurcated stent-graft on a real patient's arterial
geometry. The stent-graft is modeled using realistic constitutive properties
for both the stent and most importantly for the graft. The arterial geometry is
obtained from pre-operative imaging exam. The obtained results are in good
agreement with the post-operative imaging data. As the whole computational time
was reduced to less than 2 hours, this study constitutes an essential step
towards predictive planning simulations of aneurysmal endovascular surger
Modeled channel distributions explain extracellular recordings from cultured neurons sealed to microelectrodes
Amplitudes and shapes of extracellular recordings from single neurons cultured on a substrate embedded microelectrode depend not only on the volume conducting properties of the neuron-electrode interface, but might also depend on the distribution of voltage-sensitive channels over the neuronal membrane. In this paper, finite-element modeling is used to quantify the effect of these channel distributions on the neuron-electrode contact. Slight accumulation or depletion of voltage-sensitive channels in the sealing membrane of the neuron results in various shapes and amplitudes of simulated extracellular recordings. However, estimation of channel-specific accumulation factors from extracellular recordings can be obstructed by co-occuring ion currents and defect sealing. Experimental data from cultured neuron-electrode interfaces suggest depletion of sodium channels and accumulation of potassium channels
Application of a strong FSI coupling scheme for the numerical simulation of bileaflet mechanical heart valve dynamics: study of wall shear stress on the valve leaflets
One of the major challenges in the design of Bileaflet Mechanical Heart Valves (BMHVs) is reduction of the blood damage generated by non-physiological blood flow. Numerical simulations provide relevant insights into the (fluid) dynamics of the BMHV and are used for design optimisation. In this paper, a strong coupling algorithm for the partitioned Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulation of a BMHV is presented. The convergence of the coupling iterations between the flow solver and the leaflet motion solver is accelerated by using a numerically calculated Jacobian with the derivatives of the pressure and viscous moments acting on the leaflets with respect to the leaflet accelerations. The developed algorithm is used to simulate the dynamics of a 3D BMHV in three different geometries, allowing an analysis of the solution process. Moreover, the leaflet kinematics and the general flow field are discussed, with special focus on the shear stresses on the valve leaflets
Numerical simulation of electrocardiograms for full cardiac cycles in healthy and pathological conditions
This work is dedicated to the simulation of full cycles of the electrical
activity of the heart and the corresponding body surface potential. The model
is based on a realistic torso and heart anatomy, including ventricles and
atria. One of the specificities of our approach is to model the atria as a
surface, which is the kind of data typically provided by medical imaging for
thin volumes. The bidomain equations are considered in their usual formulation
in the ventricles, and in a surface formulation on the atria. Two ionic models
are used: the Courtemanche-Ramirez-Nattel model on the atria, and the "Minimal
model for human Ventricular action potentials" (MV) by Bueno-Orovio, Cherry and
Fenton in the ventricles. The heart is weakly coupled to the torso by a Robin
boundary condition based on a resistor- capacitor transmission condition.
Various ECGs are simulated in healthy and pathological conditions (left and
right bundle branch blocks, Bachmann's bundle block, Wolff-Parkinson-White
syndrome). To assess the numerical ECGs, we use several qualitative and
quantitative criteria found in the medical literature. Our simulator can also
be used to generate the signals measured by a vest of electrodes. This
capability is illustrated at the end of the article
Extracellular stimulation window explained by a geometry-based model of the neuron-electrode contact
Extracellular stimulation of single cultured neurons which are completely sealing a microelectrode is usually performed using anodic or biphasic currents of at least 200 nA. However, recently obtained experimental data demonstrate the possibility to stimulate a neuron using cathodic current pulses with less amplitude. Also, a stimulation window is observed. These findings can be explained by a finite-element model which permits geometry-based electrical representation of the neuron-electrode interface and can be used to explore the required conditions for extracellular stimulation in detail. Modulation of the voltage sensitive channels in the sealing part of the membrane appears to be the key to successful cathodic stimulation. Furthermore, the upper limit of the stimulation window can be explained as a normal consequence of the neuronal membrane electrophysiology
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