Pressure drop and recovery in cases of cardiovascular disease: a computational study

The presence of disease in the cardiovascular system results in changes in flow and pressure patterns. Increased resistance to the flow observed in cases of aortic valve and coronary artery disease can have as a consequence abnormally high pressure gradients, which may lead to overexertion of the heart muscle, limited tissue perfusion and tissue damage. In the past, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods have been used coupled with medical imaging data to study haemodynamics, and it has been shown that CFD has great potential as a way to study patient-specific cases of cardiovascular disease in vivo, non-invasively, in great detail and at low cost. CFD can be particularly useful in evaluating the effectiveness of new diagnostic and treatment techniques, especially at early ‘concept’ stages. The main aim of this thesis is to use CFD to investigate the relationship between pressure and flow in cases of disease in the coronary arteries and the aortic valve, with the purpose of helping improve diagnosis and treatment, respectively. A transitional flow CFD model is used to investigate the phenomenon of pressure recovery in idealised models of aortic valve stenosis. Energy lost as turbulence in the wake of a diseased valve hinders pressure recovery, which occurs naturally when no energy losses are observed. A “concept” study testing the potential of a device that could maximise pressure recovery to reduce the pressure load on the heart muscle was conducted. The results indicate that, under certain conditions, such a device could prove useful. Fully patient-specific CFD studies of the coronary arteries are fewer than studies in larger vessels, mostly due to past limitations in the imaging and velocity data quality. A new method to reconstruct coronary anatomy from optical coherence tomography (OCT) data is presented in the thesis. The resulting models were combined with invasively acquired pressure and flow velocity data in transient CFD simulations, in order to test the ability of CFD to match the invasively measured pressure drop. A positive correlation and no bias were found between the calculated and measured results. The use of lower resolution reconstruction methods resulted in no correlation between the calculated and measured results, highlighting the importance of anatomical accuracy in the effectiveness of the CFD model. However, it was considered imperative that the limitations of CFD in predicting pressure gradients be further explored. It was found that the CFD-derived pressure drop is sensitive to changes in the volumetric flow rate, while bench-top experiments showed that the estimation of volumetric flow rate from invasively measured velocity data is subject to errors and uncertainties that may have a random effect on the CFD pressure result. This study demonstrated that the relationship between geometry, pressure and flow can be used to evaluate new diagnostic and treatment methods. In the case of aortic stenosis, further experimental work is required to turn the concept of a pressure recovery device into a potential clinical tool. In the coronary study it was shown that, though CFD has great power as a study tool, its limitations, especially those pertaining to the volumetric flow rate boundary condition, must be further studied and become fully understood before CFD can be reliably used to aid diagnosis in clinical practice.Open Acces

Fluorescent angiography of chicken embryo and photobleaching velocimetry

Fluorescent angiography approach in application to a living chicken embryo is discussed. It provides precise vessel wall detection and demonstrates usefulness for real time monitoring of vasoconstriction and vasodilatation related to self regulation of vascular network as well as to response to external factors. On the other hand, high stability of fluorescence and long period of dye elimination makes variations of fluorescent intensity practically independent from fast variations of blood flow rate. Therefore, we proposed the improvement of fluorescent angiography technique by introduction of photobleaching fluorescent velocimetry approach. We have developed the imaging system for intravital microscopic photobleaching velocimetry and tested it by using a glass capillary tube as a model of blood vessel. We demonstrated high potential of the technique for instant flow velocity distribution profile measurement with high spatial and temporal resolution up to 2 μm and 60 ms, respectively

4D ultrafast ultrasound flow imaging: in vivo quantification of arterial volumetric flow rate in a single heartbeat

ABSTRACT: We present herein 4D ultrafast ultrasound flow imaging, a novel ultrasound-based volumetric imaging technique for the quantitative mapping of blood flow. Complete volumetric blood flow distribution imaging was achieved through 2D tilted plane-wave insonification, 2D multi-angle cross-beam beamforming, and 3D vector Doppler velocity components estimation by least-squares fitting. 4D ultrafast ultrasound flow imaging was performed in large volumetric fields of view at very high volume rate (>4000 volumes s(-1)) using a 1024-channel 4D ultrafast ultrasound scanner and a 2D matrix-array transducer. The precision of the technique was evaluated in vitro by using 3D velocity vector maps to estimate volumetric flow rates in a vessel phantom. Volumetric Flow rate errors of less than 5% were found when volumetric flow rates and peak velocities were respectively less than 360 ml min(-1) and 100 cm s(-1). The average volumetric flow rate error increased to 18.3% when volumetric flow rates and peak velocities were up to 490 ml min(-1) and 1.3 m s(-1), respectively. The in vivo feasibility of the technique was shown in the carotid arteries of two healthy volunteers. The 3D blood flow velocity distribution was assessed during one cardiac cycle in a full volume and it was used to quantify volumetric flow rates (375 +/- 57 ml min(-1) and 275 +/- 43 ml min(-1)). Finally, the formation of 3D vortices at the carotid artery bifurcation was imaged at high volume rates

Low Cost 3D Flow Estimation in Medical Ultrasound

abstract: Medical ultrasound imaging is widely used today because of it being non-invasive and cost-effective. Flow estimation helps in accurate diagnosis of vascular diseases and adds an important dimension to medical ultrasound imaging. Traditionally flow estimation is done using Doppler-based methods which only estimate velocity in the beam direction. Thus when blood vessels are close to being orthogonal to the beam direction, there are large errors in the estimation results. In this dissertation, a low cost blood flow estimation method that does not have the angle dependency of Doppler-based methods, is presented. First, a velocity estimator based on speckle tracking and synthetic lateral phase is proposed for clutter-free blood flow. Speckle tracking is based on kernel matching and does not have any angle dependency. While velocity estimation in axial dimension is accurate, lateral velocity estimation is challenging due to reduced resolution and lack of phase information. This work presents a two tiered method which estimates the pixel level movement using sum-of-absolute difference, and then estimates the sub-pixel level using synthetic phase information in the lateral dimension. Such a method achieves highly accurate velocity estimation with reduced complexity compared to a cross correlation based method. The average bias of the proposed estimation method is less than 2% for plug flow and less than 7% for parabolic flow. Blood is always accompanied by clutter which originates from vessel wall and surrounding tissues. As magnitude of the blood signal is usually 40-60 dB lower than magnitude of the clutter signal, clutter filtering is necessary before blood flow estimation. Clutter filters utilize the high magnitude and low frequency features of clutter signal to effectively remove them from the compound (blood + clutter) signal. Instead of low complexity FIR filter or high complexity SVD-based filters, here a power/subspace iteration based method is proposed for clutter filtering. Excellent clutter filtering performance is achieved for both slow and fast moving clutters with lower complexity compared to SVD-based filters. For instance, use of the proposed method results in the bias being less than 8% and standard deviation being less than 12% for fast moving clutter when the beam-to-flow-angle is $90^o$. Third, a flow rate estimation method based on kernel power weighting is proposed. As the velocity estimator is a kernel-based method, the estimation accuracy degrades near the vessel boundary. In order to account for kernels that are not fully inside the vessel, fractional weights are given to these kernels based on their signal power. The proposed method achieves excellent flow rate estimation results with less than 8% bias for both slow and fast moving clutters. The performance of the velocity estimator is also evaluated for challenging models. A 2D version of our two-tiered method is able to accurately estimate velocity vectors in a spinning disk as well as in a carotid bifurcation model, both of which are part of the synthetic aperture vector flow imaging (SA-VFI) challenge of 2018. In fact, the proposed method ranked 3rd in the challenge for testing dataset with carotid bifurcation. The flow estimation method is also evaluated for blood flow in vessels with stenosis. Simulation results show that the proposed method is able to estimate the flow rate with less than 9% bias.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 201

Estimation of volumetric flow rate through a circular duct: Equal area versus Log-Tchebycheff method.

Proper control of airflow through a duct is critical in HVAC application. At present, the airflow rate is typically estimated by means of Equal Area and Log-Tchebycheff methods. Both methods deduce the flow rate based on velocities measured at discrete locations in a cross section; the difference is associated with the rules that prescribe the specific locations. This research aims at making a step towards resolving the existing debate as to which method is preferable for a given situation. To achieve this, two-dimensional numerical simulations of air at a uniform velocity entering a straight circular duct of 60D length were performed over a range of Re from 200 to 54000. It was revealed that in the absence of imperfections that are encountered in a real environment, the Equal Area method estimates the volumetric flow rate better in the laminar flow regime, whereas the Log-Tchebycheff method provides greater accuracy in the turbulent regime. In addition, experiments were conducted for Re of 24400, 54800 and 99400 in a straight circular duct of 32D (D = 0.266 m) length. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .A34. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, page: 1482. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005

Measuring volumetric flow rate of grains through a crop harvester to improve crop yield estimation accuracy

Recent technological innovations such as variable rate seeding and fertilizer application have given farmers the ability to manage large fields as smaller sections with specific application needs. Crop yield data and maps from previous years are the primary source of information from which crop management recommendations and decisions are based upon. Yield monitoring has been widely adopted into current crop production practices since the first commercially successful yield monitor become available more than 20 years ago. Yield monitoring allows for producers to compress the comprehensive list of previous crop input decisions and into a single yield measurement value for that area. When combined with soil properties measurements and production inputs, yield monitoring becomes a useful tool to rate performance and increase profits per acre. Yield data is a useful tool for making crop management decisions, but becomes irreverent when it is not accurate or reliable. The first goal of this research was to benchmark current yield monitoring solutions to better understand current performance and build performance goals for the next generation of yield monitoring. Two common yield monitors utilizing different methods of yield estimation were selected for benchmarking. Both systems required intensive calibration to achieve accuracy. The volumetric flow yield monitor maintained accuracy across the entire flow range better than the impact-based mass flow yield monitor because of a fundamental measurement system that does not rely entirely upon calibration regression. A particle flow yield monitor utilizing the advantages of both yield systems was designed and developed for initial performance assessment. Linearity and consistency across a wide range of flow rates for three different crops demonstrated promise for future development of the system. The design performed in conjunction with an impact-based mass flow yield monitor and maintained flow rate linearity for all three crops. Limitations of the current design were revealed in field harvest conditions and validated using simulation tools. Successful initial performance and yield estimation linearity supports continued development of this technology

Estimation of volumetric flow rate in a square duct: Equal area versus log-Tchebycheff methods.

Accurate measurement of the volumetric airflow rates in a duct is critical to room comfort and energy saving in HVAC industry. Presently, the Equal Area and the Log-Tchebycheff methods are extensively used in practice. Both methods deduce the flow rate based on averaging discrete point velocities along the cross section while their difference is associated with the rules in specifying the measurement locations. This study aims at evaluating the Equal Area and the Log-Tchebycheff methods in deducing airflow rate in a 0.46 m square duct up to 40 Dh long, over a range of Reynolds number from 10,000 to 500,000. The numerical investigation evaluated the two methods for ideal flow conditions in the absence of practical imperfections. The airflow was simulated in a three-dimensional space using the commercial CFD code FLUENT with the RNG k-epsilon turbulence model. Based on the simulated flow field, the volumetric flow rates were calculated according to the Equal Area and the Log-Tchebycheff methods. It was observed that the Equal Area method overestimated the flow rate by 3.5 ∼ 4.7% while the Log-Tchebycheff method\u27s values fell within -0.4 ∼ 0.8% of the actual flow rates. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .Z46. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, page: 1500. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005

Fluid Dynamic Characterization of a Laboratory Scale Rocked Bag Bioreactor

Single-use technology is being widely adopted for the manufacture of biotherapeutics and cell therapy products. Rocked single-use bioreactors in particular have been commonly used, however, the hydrodynamics have rarely been characterized and are poorly understood. In this work, phase-resolved Particle Image Velocimetry and high frequency visual fluid tracking were used to investigate the flow pattern and velocity characteristics for the first time. The studies were performed on an optically accessible mimic of a Sartorius 2L CultiBag at different conditions. Wave formation was observed and higher rocking speeds caused the fluid to move proportionately out of phase with respect to the platform. Dimensional comparisons of fluid velocities with conventional bioreactors suggest that similar fluid dynamics characteristics can be achieved between rocked and stirred configurations. These results provide a first insight into the fluid dynamics of a novel bioreactor type at relevant process conditions supporting the generation of scale translation laws

Ultrasound Imaging Innovations for Visualization and Quantification of Vascular Biomarkers

The existence of plaque in the carotid arteries, which provide circulation to the brain, is a known risk for stroke and dementia. Alas, this risk factor is present in 25% of the adult population. Proper assessment of carotid plaque may play a significant role in preventing and managing stroke and dementia. However, current plaque assessment routines have known limitations in assessing individual risk for future cardiovascular events. There is a practical need to derive new vascular biomarkers that are indicative of cardiovascular risk based on hemodynamic information. Nonetheless, the derivation of these biomarkers is not a trivial technical task because none of the existing clinical imaging modalities have adequate time resolution to track the spatiotemporal dynamics of arterial blood flow that is pulsatile in nature. The goal of this dissertation is to devise a new ultrasound imaging framework to measure vascular biomarkers related to turbulent flow, intra-plaque microvasculature, and blood flow rate. Central to the proposed framework is the use of high frame rate ultrasound (HiFRUS) imaging principles to track hemodynamic events at fine temporal resolution (through using frame rates of greater than 1000 frames per second). The existence of turbulent flow and intra-plaque microvessels, as well as anomalous blood flow rate, are all closely related to the formation and progression of carotid plaque. Therefore, quantifying these biomarkers can improve the identification of individuals with carotid plaque who are at risk for future cardiovascular events. To facilitate the testing and the implementation of the proposed imaging algorithms, this dissertation has included the development of new experimental models (in the form of flow phantoms) and a new HiFRUS imaging platform with live scanning and on-demand playback functionalities. Pilot studies were also carried out on rats and human volunteers. Results generally demonstrated the real-time performance and the practical efficacy of the proposed algorithms. The proposed ultrasound imaging framework is expected to improve carotid plaque risk classification and, in turn, facilitate timely identification of at-risk individuals. It may also be used to derive new insights on carotid plaque formation and progression to aid disease management and the development of personalized treatment strategies

On the sensitivity analysis of porous finite element models for cerebral perfusion estimation

AbstractComputational physiological models are promising tools to enhance the design of clinical trials and to assist in decision making. Organ-scale haemodynamic models are gaining popularity to evaluate perfusion in a virtual environment both in healthy and diseased patients. Recently, the principles of verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification of such physiological models have been laid down to ensure safe applications of engineering software in the medical device industry. The present study sets out to establish guidelines for the usage of a three-dimensional steady state porous cerebral perfusion model of the human brain following principles detailed in the verification and validation (V&amp;V 40) standard of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The model relies on the finite element method and has been developed specifically to estimate how brain perfusion is altered in ischaemic stroke patients before, during, and after treatments. Simulations are compared with exact analytical solutions and a thorough sensitivity analysis is presented covering every numerical and physiological model parameter.The results suggest that such porous models can approximate blood pressure and perfusion distributions reliably even on a coarse grid with first order elements. On the other hand, higher order elements are essential to mitigate errors in volumetric blood flow rate estimation through cortical surface regions. Matching the volumetric flow rate corresponding to major cerebral arteries is identified as a validation milestone. It is found that inlet velocity boundary conditions are hard to obtain and that constant pressure inlet boundary conditions are feasible alternatives. A one-dimensional model is presented which can serve as a computationally inexpensive replacement of the three-dimensional brain model to ease parameter optimisation, sensitivity analyses and uncertainty quantification.The findings of the present study can be generalised to organ-scale porous perfusion models. The results increase the applicability of computational tools regarding treatment development for stroke and other cerebrovascular conditions.</jats:p