Hemodialysis Access Simulation for Cardiac Workload Optimization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Hemodialysis access procedures can increase cardiac workload and risk of congestive heart failure by altering hemodynamics, and existing methods lack effective tools for optimizing vascular access graft locations and types to ensure sufficient blood flow while minimizing thrombosis and cardiac demand.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for simulating and optimizing hemodialysis access by creating patient-specific, three-dimensional anatomic models to compute pre- and post-treatment hemodynamic characteristics, evaluating various vascular access configurations, and using cost functions to determine optimal graft locations and types that minimize cardiac workload and thrombosis risk.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If a vascular access procedure (AVF or AVG) is created to enable hemodialysis, then blood flow for dialysis is sufficient, but cardiac workload increases and risk of congestive heart failure increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveblood flowVSAvoidcardiac workload

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs pre-treatment hemodynamic simulation and optimization before the actual vascular access procedure. By computing pre-treatment hemodynamic characteristics and simulating post-treatment geometries in advance, the system identifies optimal graft locations and configurations that minimize cardiac workload increases while ensuring sufficient blood flow for dialysis.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a computational model that copies the patient's specific three-dimensional anatomic vasculature. This digital twin allows for virtual testing of different vascular access configurations without actual surgical intervention, enabling optimization of graft placement to balance blood flow requirements with cardiac workload constraints.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Quantity of substance

If a vascular access procedure is created to ensure sufficient blood flow for dialysis, then dialysis effectiveness is improved, but regions prone to thrombosis increase due to altered hemodynamics

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveblood flowVSAvoidthrombosis risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If vascular access graft location and type are optimized to minimize cardiac workload, then cardiac safety is improved, but treatment planning complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecardiac safetyVSAvoidtreatment planning

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces complex manual treatment planning with automated computational hemodynamic simulation. By using numerical methods to solve blood flow equations and automatically evaluate multiple graft configurations, the system simplifies the planning process while providing comprehensive cardiac safety assessment and optimization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

4Ease of operation

If traditional vascular access procedures are used without optimization, then treatment simplicity is maintained, but hemodynamic changes increase cardiac demand and thrombosis risk

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetreatment simplicityVSAvoidhemodynamic disruption

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3215967B1Systems and methods for simulation of hemodialsis access and optimization

Publication Date: 2021.06.02 HEARTFLOW INC

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AI summary

Systems and methods are disclosed for simulating or optimizing hemodialysis access. One method includes receiving a patient-specific anatomic model of a patient's vasculature; computing a pre-treatment hemodynamic characteristic of a pre-treatment geometry of a portion of the anatomic model; simulating a post-treatment geometry of a vascular access in the portion of the anatomic model; computing a post-treatment hemodynamic characteristic of the post-treatment geometry of the portion of the anatomic model having the vascular access; and generating a representation of the pre-treatment hemodynamic characteristic or the post-treatment hemodynamic characteristic.