Patient-Specific Coronary Artery Hemodynamic Modeling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical imaging techniques for assessing coronary artery stenosis provide inadequate, often inaccurate anatomical assessments, leading to overestimation or underestimation of stenosis severity, which can result in unnecessary interventions or missed treatments due to the lack of accurate patient-specific hemodynamic parameters.
Innovation Solution
A non-invasive patient-specific modeling method using volumetric imaging data and continuous arterial pressure data to create a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation model of coronary artery blood flow, incorporating a three-component model that includes blood circulatory, heart pressure-volume, and coronary blood flow components to determine patient-specific hemodynamic parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If medical imaging techniques are used for anatomical assessment of coronary artery stenosis, then the assessment can be performed non-invasively, but the accuracy of stenosis severity evaluation deteriorates leading to overestimation or underestimation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation as an intermediary between anatomical imaging and functional assessment. The CFD model uses patient-specific coronary artery geometry from imaging data and applies hemodynamic equations to compute flow and pressure distributions, thereby mediating between the non-invasive anatomical data and the functional stenosis severity metrics without requiring invasive pressure measurements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the invasive mechanical pressure measurement system with a computational fluid dynamics simulation system. Instead of physically inserting catheters to measure pressure gradients across stenosis, the invention uses numerical solutions of Navier-Stokes equations to compute hemodynamic parameters from anatomical imaging data, substituting a mechanical measurement approach with a computational modeling approach
2Measurement precision
If invasive pressure and flow measurements are performed to achieve accurate functional assessment, then the measurement precision improves, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to invasive procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the patient's coronary artery system through CFD simulation. The simulation reproduces the hemodynamic behavior of the actual arterial system by solving fluid flow equations using patient-specific anatomical geometry, thereby providing a computational replica that yields accurate functional assessment without requiring physical invasion of the patient's vasculature
Solution Approach 2:
The CFD simulation acts as an intermediary that translates anatomical imaging data into functional hemodynamic parameters. Rather than directly measuring pressure and flow invasively, the invention uses the CFD model to compute these parameters from anatomical data, serving as a mediator between the non-invasive imaging modality and the functional assessment goal
3Device complexity
If simplified geometries with generic boundary conditions are used in CFD techniques, then the device complexity is reduced and computation is simplified, but the reliability of patient-specific assessment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using patient-specific coronary artery geometry extracted from individual patient imaging data rather than simplified or generic arterial models. The methodology processes actual patient anatomy through segmentation and mesh generation to create a customized computational domain that reflects the unique geometric characteristics of each patient's coronary vasculature, thereby ensuring local accuracy specific to each patient's anatomy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-processing patient-specific imaging data to extract coronary artery geometry, generate three-dimensional meshes, and define boundary conditions before executing the CFD simulation. This preparatory work includes segmenting anatomical structures from imaging data, creating computational grids, and setting up patient-specific inlet and outlet conditions, thereby ensuring the simulation is tailored to each patient's anatomy before the actual hemodynamic computation
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for patient-specific modeling of hemodynamic parameters in coronary arteries. Example methods may include performing computational fluid dynamics simulations using a patient-specific coronary artery anatomical model derived from medical imaging data and patient-specific boundary conditions derived from a continuously recorded blood pressure waveform to determine patient-specific hemodynamic parameters in a patient's coronary arteries.