Partitioned Fluid–Solid Coupling for Cardiovascular Blood Flow: Validation Study of Pressure-Driven Fluid-Domain Deformation

Abstract

The Karlsruhe Heart Model (KaHMo) is a patient-specific simulation tool for a three-dimensional blood flow evaluation inside the human heart. Whereas KaHMo MRT is based on geometry movement identified from MRT data, KaHMo FSI allows the consideration of structural properties and the analysis of FSI. Previous investigations by Oertel et al. have shown the ability of KaHMo to gain insight into different intra-ventricular fluid mechanics of both healthy and diseased hearts. However, the in vivo validation of the highly dynamic cavity flow pattern has been a challenging task in recent years. As a first step, the focus of this study is on an artificial ventricular experiment, derived from real heart anatomy. Fluid domain deformation and intra-ventricular flow dynamics are enforced by an outer surface pressure distribution. The pure geometrical representation of KaHMo MRT can now be complemented by constitutive properties, pressure forces, and interaction effects using KaHMo FSI's partitioned code-coupling approach. For the first time, fluid domain deformation and intra-ventricular flow of KaHMo FSI has been compared with experimental data. With a good overall agreement, the proof of KaHMo's validity represents an important step from feasibility study toward patient-specific analysis.