Validation of Aortic Blood Flow Simulations During Extracorporeal Circulation Using Phase Contrast Magnetic Resonance...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Extracorporeal circulation (ECC) is vital in cardiovascular medicine but can lead to severe complications.
• The precise impact of ECC on arterial blood flow dynamics remains incompletely understood.
• Understanding blood flow profiles during ECC is crucial for patient safety and optimizing procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and elucidate arterial blood flow profiles under various extracorporeal circulation scenarios.
• To assess the effects of different ECC methods on cerebral and visceral perfusion.
• To validate numerical simulation models of blood flow using in vivo measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized extracorporeal circulation (ECC) in 23 New Zealand White rabbits with ante-grade, retrograde, or physiological perfusion.
• Assessed arterial blood flow profiles, focusing on cerebral and visceral perfusion.
• Employed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to tune and validate numerical simulation models.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated distinct aortic blood flow patterns between ante-grade and retrograde ECC.
• Found no impairment in supraaortic and visceral perfusions during either ECC method.
• Achieved high correlation (r=0.98) between MRI volume flow rates and simulation results.
• Identified intima damage in areas of high wall shear stress (WSS).

Conclusions:

• Pioneering study in vivo assessing arterial blood flow during diverse ECC scenarios.
• Validated precise blood flow simulations using live organism measurements.
• Retrograde ECC does not inherently compromise cerebral perfusion.
• Individualized simulations offer potential to guide cannulation strategies and minimize ECC-related complications.