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Updated: Mar 11, 2026
Hydra, a Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Cardiovascular Analysis and Diagnosis
Published on: September 26, 2018
Computational assessment of hemodynamics-based diagnostic tools using a database of virtual subjects: Application to
Marie Willemet1, Samuel Vennin2, Jordi Alastruey1
1Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King׳s College London, St Thomas׳ Hospital, London, UK.
Insights
A new virtual subject database aids cardiovascular assessment. This tool validates pulse wave analysis algorithms and provides insights into physiological mechanisms, improving clinical practice.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Computational Hemodynamics
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Physiological indexes and algorithms for cardiovascular assessment often rely on in-vivo hemodynamic measurements.
- Validation of these tools is challenging due to time constraints and potential measurement errors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate a novel methodology using a virtual subject database for theoretical assessment of cardiovascular tools.
- To demonstrate the utility of this database in evaluating pulse wave analysis algorithms and understanding underlying physiological mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Generation of a virtual subject database using 1D-0D modeling of arterial hemodynamics.
- Application of the database to assess accuracy of pulse wave velocity indexes.
- Validation and refinement of a central blood pressure computation algorithm.
- Investigation of theoretical mechanisms behind the augmentation index.
Main Results:
- The virtual subject database successfully simulated a wide range of healthy cases.
- The methodology allowed for accurate assessment of pulse wave velocity indexes.
- The algorithm for central blood pressure computation was validated and refined.
- Theoretical insights into the augmentation index were obtained.
Conclusions:
- The virtual subject database is a valuable new tool for clinicians.
- It offers a theoretical approach to validate cardiovascular assessment tools, reducing reliance on in-vivo measurements.
- The database provides crucial insights into the physical mechanisms behind clinical observations in cardiovascular practice.
Abstract:
Many physiological indexes and algorithms based on pulse wave analysis have been suggested in order to better assess cardiovascular function. Because these tools are often computed from in-vivo hemodynamic measurements, their validation is time-consuming, challenging, and biased by measurement errors. Recently, a new methodology has been suggested to assess theoretically these computed tools: a database of virtual subjects generated using numerical 1D-0D modeling of arterial hemodynamics. The generated set of simulations encloses a wide selection of healthy cases that could be encountered in a clinical study. We applied this new methodology to three different case studies that demonstrate the potential of our new tool, and illustrated each of them with a clinically relevant example: (i) we assessed the accuracy of indexes estimating pulse wave velocity; (ii) we validated and refined an algorithm that computes central blood pressure; and (iii) we investigated theoretical mechanisms behind the augmentation index. Our database of virtual subjects is a new tool to assist the clinician: it provides insight into the physical mechanisms underlying the correlations observed in clinical practice.
