The hybrid (physical-computational) cardiovascular simulator to study valvular diseases

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Medical Simulation

Background:

• Valvular heart disease (VHD) significantly impacts circulatory hemodynamics.
• Understanding VHD requires accurate physiological models.
• Previous models may lack the specificity to simulate complex VHD conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt a hybrid cardiovascular simulator (HCS) for modeling VHD.
• To investigate the hemodynamic effects of aortic stenosis (AS) and mitral regurgitation (MR) using the HCS.
• To validate the HCS's accuracy in simulating VHD.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a previously developed hybrid (hydro-numerical) cardiovascular simulator (HCS).
• Integrated Björk-Shiley mechanical heart valves to represent mitral and aortic valves.
• Developed and incorporated specialized mechanical devices to simulate AS and MR.

Main Results:

• The HCS accurately simulated hemodynamic changes associated with AS and MR.
• In AS, increased left ventricular preload raised pulmonary arterial pressure; decreased systemic arterial pressure reduced right ventricular preload.
• In MR, increasing severity led to decreased left ventricular pressure and increased left atrial pressure.

Conclusions:

• The adapted HCS is a valid tool for simulating VHD.
• Mechanical heart valves effectively model VHD in the HCS.
• The HCS provides a safe, controlled environment for studying VHD pathophysiology and hemodynamics.