Coupling Models of Resistive Valves to Muscle Mechanics in Cardiac Fluid-Structure Interaction Simulations

Area of Science:

• Computational fluid dynamics
• Biomedical engineering
• Cardiovascular modeling

Background:

• Accurate cardiac cycle simulation requires faithful computational models of heart valves.
• Resistive immersed implicit surface (RIIS) models offer efficient simulation but lack valve-wall attachment force modeling.
• Conventional RIIS models are inconsistent with Newton's laws for fluid-structure interaction (FSI).

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve the RIIS model for accurate fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations of cardiac valves.
• To incorporate valve-wall attachment forces into the RIIS model.
• To ensure physical consistency and adherence to Newton's laws in cardiac valve modeling.

Main Methods:

• Proposed an enhancement to the RIIS model by adding distributed forces to simulate valve-wall attachment.
• Utilized an explicit numerical discretization scheme for minimal computational overhead.
• Conducted numerical experiments in both idealized and realistic settings.

Main Results:

• The modified RIIS model successfully incorporates valve-wall attachment forces.
• The enhanced model demonstrates physical consistency, adhering to Newton's laws.
• Minimal computational overhead was observed with the explicit discretization scheme.

Conclusions:

• The proposed modification effectively overcomes limitations of the conventional RIIS model for FSI simulations.
• The enhanced RIIS model allows for accurate and physically consistent simulations of cardiac valves within FSI contexts.
• This advancement enables broader application of resistive valve models in complex cardiovascular simulations.