MRI-based computational hemodynamics in patients with aortic coarctation using the lattice Boltzmann methods:...

Area of Science:

• Computational hemodynamics
• Medical imaging
• Cardiovascular research

Background:

• Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) requires accurate pressure gradient measurements for diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Traditional methods like catheterization are invasive.
• Advancements in computational fluid dynamics offer potential for noninvasive assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a Lattice Boltzmann Methods (LBM) scheme for noninvasively measuring pressure gradients in patients with CoA.
• To compare LBM-derived pressure drops with reference standard catheterization measurements.

Main Methods:

• Simulated pressure gradients using the open-source OpenLB library based on 4D flow-sensitive MRI data from 12 CoA patients.
• Reconstructed patient-specific vascular geometry from 3D whole-heart MRI.
• Compared pre- and posttreatment LBM results with invasive pressure catheterization data.

Main Results:

• A significant linear correlation (r=.85, P<.001) was found between pretreatment catheter pressure drops and LBM-computed values.
• Pretreatment bias was -0.58±4.1 mmHg (P=0.64), indicating good agreement.
• Posttreatment bias was -2.54±3.53 mmHg, suggesting reasonable agreement with a wider confidence interval.

Conclusions:

• LBM-based computational hemodynamics shows reasonable agreement with invasive catheterization for pressure gradient assessment in CoA.
• LBM provides a viable noninvasive alternative for pressure calculations, aiding in CoA diagnosis and therapy planning.