Numerical simulations of flow patterns in the human left ventricle model with a novel dynamic mesh morphing approach based on radial basis function

Fei Xu,Saša Kenjereš

doi:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.104184

Abstract

We present a new numerical simulation framework for prediction of flow patterns in the human left ventricle model. In this study, a radial basis function (RBF) mesh morphing method is developed and applied within the finite-volume computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. The numerical simulations are designed to closely mimic details of recent tomographic particle image velocimetry (TomoPIV) experiments. The numerically simulated dynamic motions of the left ventricle and tri-leaflet biological mitral valve are emulated through the RBF morphing method. The arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) based CFD is performed with the RBF-defined deforming wall boundaries. The results obtained show a good agreement with experiments, confirming the reliability and accuracy of the developed simulation framework.

Highlights

Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of deaths globally
The flow is oriented towards the ejection plane and two low intensity recirculation regions are generated in the proximity of the closed valve
The numerical simulations are based on the identical working conditions as presented in recent experimental studies which combined the state-of-art tomo graphic laser-optics based particle-image velocimetry and echocardi ography measurements

Summary

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of deaths globally. The intracardiac flow analysis has been attracting a lot of interest in the field of cardiology in the last years. The process of the vortex ring formation in a model of the left ventricle was presented in the pioneering work of [1]. This is followed by a series of studies which investigated momentum and energy transfer of blood flow in simplified ventricle models, [2,3,4,5]. In extensive state-of-the-art reviews of [6,7,8,9], it is postulated that dynamics of vortices can immediately reflect important physiological changes of the left ventricle, and as such, could provide early signs of heart disease. The remaining research question is to reveal the exact mechanisms behind the pathophysiological implications of vortices in the left ventricle

Methods

Results

Conclusion