Borazjani, Iman

AbstractImage‐based CFD is a powerful tool to study cardiovascular flows while 2D echocardiography (echo) is the most widely used noninvasive imaging modality for the diagnosis of heart disease. Here, echo is combined with CFD, that is, an echo‐CFD framework, to study ventricular flows. To achieve this, the previous 3D reconstruction from multiple 2D echo at standard cross sections is extended by: (a) reconstructing aortic and mitral valves from 2D echo and closing the left‐ventricle (LV) geometry by approximating a superior wall; (b) incorporating the physiological assumption of the fixed apex as a reference (fixed) point in the 3D reconstruction; and (c) incorporating several smoothing algorithms to remove the nonphysical oscillations (ringing) near the basal section. The method is applied to echo from a baseline LV and one after inducing acute myocardial ischemia (AMI). The 3D reconstruction is validated by comparing it against a reference reconstruction from many echo sections while flow simulations are validated against the Doppler ultrasound velocity measurements. The sensitivity study shows that the choice of the smoothing algorithm does not change the flow pattern inside the LV. However, the presence of the mitral valve can significantly change the flow pattern during the diastole phase. In addition, the abnormal shape of a LV with AMI can drastically change the flow during diastole. Furthermore, the hemodynamic energy loss, as an indicator of the LV pumping performance, for different test cases is calculated, which shows a larger energy loss for a LV with AMI compared to the baseline one.

Two-dimensional echocardiography (echo) is the method of choice for noninvasive evaluation of the left ventricle (LV) function owing to its low cost, fast acquisition time, and high temporal resolution. However, it only provides the LV boundaries in discrete 2D planes, and the 3D LV geometry needs to be reconstructed from those planes to quantify LV wall motion, acceleration, and strain, or to carry out flow simulations. An automated method is developed for the reconstruction of the 3D LV endocardial surface using echo from a few standard cross sections, in contrast with the previous work that has used a series of 2D scans in a linear or rotational manner for 3D reconstruction. The concept is based on a generalized approach so that the number or type (long-axis (LA) or short-axis (SA)) of sectional data is not constrained. The location of the cross sections is optimized to minimize the difference between the reconstructed and measured cross sections, and the reconstructed LV surface is meshed in a standard format. Temporal smoothing is implemented to smooth the motion of the LV and the flow rate. This software tool can be used with existing clinical 2D echo systems to reconstruct the 3D LV geometry and motion to quantify the regional akinesis/dyskinesis, 3D strain, acceleration, and velocities, or to be used in ventricular flow simulations.

The left ventricle (LV) of a human heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it throughout the body via the aortic valve. Characterizing the LV geometry, its motion, and the ventricular flow is critical in assessing the heart’s health. An automated method has been developed in this work to generate a three-dimensional (3D) model of the LV from multiple-axis echocardiography (echo). Image data from three long-axis sections and a basal section is processed to compute spatial nodes on the LV surface. The generated surfaces are output in a standard format such that it can be imported into the curvilinear-immersed boundary (CURVIB) framework for numerical simulation of the flow inside the LV. The 3D LV model can be used for better understanding of the ventricular motion and the simulation framework provides a powerful tool for studying left ventricular flows on a patient specific basis. Future work would incorporate data from additional cross-sectional images.

The left ventricle (LV) pumps oxygenated blood from the lungs to the rest of the body through systemic circulation. The efficiency of such a pumping function is dependent on blood flow within the LV chamber. It is therefore crucial to accurately characterize LV hemodynamics. Improved understanding of LV hemodynamics is expected to provide important clinical diagnostic and prognostic information. We review the recent advances in numerical and experimental methods for characterizing LV flows and focus on analysis of intraventricular flow fields by echocardiographic particle image velocimetry (echo-PIV), due to its potential for broad and practical utility. Future research directions to advance patient-specific LV simulations include development of methods capable of resolving heart valves, higher temporal resolution, automated generation of three-dimensional (3D) geometry, and incorporating actual flow measurements into the numerical solution of the 3D cardiovascular fluid dynamics.