New power loss optimized Fontan connection evaluated by calculation of power loss using high resolution PC-MRI and CFD

Abstract

A new blood vessel configuration was invented to optimize blood flow efficiency and reduce the power loss in the Fontan connection. The current preferred Fontan configuration, the total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC), usually connects the venae cava (VC) to the pulmonary arteries (PA), bypassing the right ventricle. The new connection, called OptiFlo, has two vertical inlets, which both bifurcate then merge into one another to form two horizontal outlets. One of the preliminary configurations of the new OptiFlo model was used for a comparison experiment between computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and high resolution phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) with a voxel resolution of 0.23 mmx0.23 mmx0.25 mm. The thin slice thickness was achieved using the ACGI interpolation technique we have used in other applications before. The 2D PC-MRI velocity vectors were mapped into a CFD grid, enabling direct CFD and MRI data comparisons. The mean squared difference was found between the two dataset Using the viscous power dissipation function we calculated the power loss for both CFD and MRI data. The power losses, calculated with the viscous power dissipation function, were 0.66 mW for CFD and 0.46 mW for the PC-MRI data.