A Proof of Concept of a Non-Invasive Image-Based Material Characterization Method for Enhanced Patient-Specific...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• Accurate mechanical characterization of cardiovascular structures is crucial for computational modeling.
• A validated, non-invasive method for inferring patient-specific large vessel material properties is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel technique using the flow-area (QA) method to retrieve basic material properties from magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.
• To enable image-based mechanical characterization of large blood vessels.

Main Methods:

• Developed and tested a QA-based formulation in silico using fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations.
• Modified the QA formulation based on FSI results to retrieve elastic modulus (E) values.
• Validated the method in vitro using a compliant phantom in an MR scanner and compared results to tensile tests.

Main Results:

• In silico simulations informed a correction factor for the QA formulation.
• In vitro MR imaging yielded an average elastic modulus (E) of 0.51 MPa.
• The MR-derived E value was within 2% of the tensile test result (0.50 MPa).

Conclusions:

• The study presents a promising indirect, non-invasive method for determining elastic properties from MR imaging data alone.
• This technique has the potential for image-based mechanical characterization of large blood vessels.
• The validated method offers a pathway for improved patient-specific cardiovascular modeling.