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Virtual Reality Cardiac Surgical Planning Software (CorFix) for Designing Patient-Specific Vascular Grafts:
Byeol Kim1, Phong Nguyen2, Yue-Hin Loke3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
JMIR Cardio
|June 17, 2022
Summary
This study developed virtual reality (VR) software, CorFix, enabling physicians to design Fontan grafts quickly. The VR tool improved graft design and reduced thrombosis risk, aiding single ventricle heart defect treatment.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Medical Device Technology
- Virtual Reality Applications
Background:
- Single ventricle heart defects necessitate staged surgical palliation, culminating in the Fontan procedure.
- The Fontan procedure involves creating a vascular graft to direct deoxygenated blood to the lungs passively.
- Patient-specific graft customization and hemodynamic evaluation pose significant challenges in current Fontan surgery planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a virtual reality (VR) software (CorFix) for Fontan graft modeling and hemodynamic performance assessment.
- To assess the usability and learnability of the VR software by medical professionals and engineers.
- To explore the impact of visualizing hemodynamic simulation results in numerical versus graphical formats.
Main Methods:
- Five medical professionals (4 physicians, 1 biomedical engineer) participated in a user study.
- Participants were trained to use the VR software, CorFix, to design bifurcated and tube-shaped Fontan grafts.
- Graft design time, hemodynamic performance, and user feedback on usability and VR sickness were recorded.
Main Results:
- Average design times for bifurcated and tube-shaped grafts were 13.40 and 5.49 minutes, respectively, after brief training.
- Modifying tube-shaped grafts using hemodynamic feedback improved wall shear stress (WSS) by 7.02%, reducing thrombosis risk.
- While some designs achieved benchmark hepatic flow distribution, none met the indexed power loss benchmark.
Conclusions:
- VR Fontan graft design software is rapidly teachable to clinicians without prior VR or engineering experience.
- The CorFix system shows potential for improving graft customization and optimization, enhancing patient outcomes.
- Graphical visualization aided in improving WSS and reducing thrombosis risk; bifurcated designs showed promise for better pulmonary flow split.
