Human‑Scale Lymphatic Modeling to Guide Lymphatic Interventions: Application to a Soft Robotic Assist Device

The lymphatic system is essential for maintaining tissue-fluid homeostasis. In conditions of elevated venous pressures (e.g., congestive heart failure or congenital single-ventricle heart disease after Fontan palliation), increased capillary filtration and impaired lymphatic drainage disrupt this balance, predisposing patients to lymphatic overload and edema. The lack of human-scale computational models capturing lymphatic pumping and coupled tissue-fluid exchange limits the development of effective interventions.

We developed a human-scale lumped-parameter model that combines multi-lymphangion thoracic duct pumping with a Starling-based tissue-fluid balance model, enabling integrated simulation of central lymphatic function and tissue-fluid homeostasis. The framework was used to evaluate surgical and device-based lymphatic interventions. Model predictions were combined with virtual fitting using MR-derived anatomy from three Fontan patients to demonstrate translational applicability and design an extravascular soft robotic lymphatic assist sleeve, whose performance was characterized in hydraulic benchtop experiments.

The model reproduced physiologic thoracic duct flow (~3.1L/day) and predicted interstitial fluid accumulation under venous hypertension (up to ~ 18 mL/min net accumulation). Surgical (lymphatic decompression) and device-based (extravascular sleeve) interventions increased thoracic duct flow and reduced simulated tissue-fluid accumulation (47% and 76.5% reduction, respectively), with the sleeve providing frequency-dependent augmentation. Virtual fitting confirmed anatomical feasibility of device implantation in all three Fontan patients. Benchtop testing demonstrated pressure step-ups from 5.5 to ~ 17 mmHg and flow augmentation from 2.5 to ~ 18 mL/min at actuation frequencies of 20-60 bpm.

Our human-scale computational framework offers mechanistic insights into lymphatic dysfunction under elevated venous pressure and provides a platform for the design and evaluation of lymphatic interventions.