Partitioned fluid-solid coupling for cardiovascular blood flow: validation study of pressure-driven fluid-domain...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• The Karlsruhe Heart Model (KaHMo) enables patient-specific 3D blood flow simulation.
• KaHMo MRT uses geometry from MRT data, while KaHMo FSI incorporates structural properties for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis.
• Previous studies demonstrated KaHMo's utility in analyzing intra-ventricular fluid mechanics in healthy and diseased hearts, but in vivo validation remains challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the KaHMo FSI model using an artificial ventricular experiment derived from real heart anatomy.
• To compare fluid domain deformation and intra-ventricular flow dynamics predicted by KaHMo FSI with experimental data.
• To establish the validity of KaHMo FSI as a step towards patient-specific cardiovascular analysis.

Main Methods:

• An artificial ventricular experiment was designed using real heart anatomy.
• Fluid domain deformation and intra-ventricular flow were driven by an outer surface pressure distribution.
• KaHMo FSI's partitioned code-coupling approach was employed to integrate constitutive properties, pressure forces, and interaction effects.

Main Results:

• The study presents the first comparison of KaHMo FSI's fluid domain deformation and intra-ventricular flow with experimental data.
• A good overall agreement was observed between the simulation results and the experimental data.
• The findings provide experimental validation for the KaHMo FSI model.

Conclusions:

• The validation of KaHMo FSI against experimental data marks a significant advancement from a feasibility study to patient-specific analysis.
• The results support the use of KaHMo FSI for accurate simulation of dynamic cavity flow patterns.
• This study establishes the foundational validity of KaHMo FSI for future clinical applications in cardiovascular research.