Modified Pressure-Drop Model for Arterial Stenosis Prediction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for predicting post-stenting hemodynamic metrics in arterial stenosis require modification of the pre-stent anatomical model to generate a post-stent model, which is complex and assumes various parameters, and do not directly compute the effect of a stent on blood flow and pressure.

Innovation Solution

A method that uses a modified pressure-drop model to directly compute post-stenting hemodynamic metrics without the need for an intermediate post-stent anatomical model, by simulating blood flow and pressure in the pre-stenting model and modifying the pressure-drop model to represent the effect of stenting, allowing for the prediction of fractional flow reserve (FFR) and other metrics.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a modified pressure-drop model is used to directly compute post-stenting hemodynamic metrics, then the prediction accuracy and computational efficiency are improved, but the model complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprediction accuracy of post-stenting hemodynamic metricsVSAvoidmodel complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent modifies the pressure-drop model by changing key parameters to account for stent effects. Specifically, it adjusts the pressure-drop calculation parameters to simulate the hemodynamic changes caused by stent placement, allowing direct computation of post-stenting metrics without full anatomical model reconstruction. This parameter modification approach maintains computational efficiency while improving prediction accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If an intermediate post-stent anatomical model is generated, then the anatomical accuracy is improved, but the computational time and process complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveanatomical model accuracyVSAvoidcomputational time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential hemodynamic information needed for post-stenting prediction from the complex anatomical model generation process. Instead of generating a complete post-stent anatomical model, it extracts and utilizes only the pressure-drop characteristics and hemodynamic metrics, bypassing the time-consuming intermediate model generation step while maintaining prediction accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary modification of the pressure-drop model parameters before actual hemodynamic simulation. By pre-adjusting the model parameters to account for stent effects, it eliminates the need for intermediate anatomical model generation, directly computing post-stenting metrics from the pre-stenting model with modified parameters.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If virtual stenting is performed on multiple stenosis regions, then the treatment planning comprehensiveness is improved, but the computational burden increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetreatment planning comprehensivenessVSAvoidcomputational burden
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSPower

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the treatment planning process by applying the modified pressure-drop model independently to each stenosis region. This segmentation allows virtual stenting to be performed on multiple regions without requiring a complete re-computation for each scenario, as the modified model can be efficiently applied to each segment separately, reducing overall computational burden while maintaining comprehensive treatment planning capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP2963574B1Method and system for prediction of post-stenting hemodynamic metrics for treatment planning of arterial stenosis
Publication Date: 2021.07.28 SIEMENS HEALTHCARE GMBH
  • EP2963574B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2963574B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2963574B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method and system for prediction of post-stenting hemodynamic metrics for treatment planning of arterial stenosis is disclosed. A pre-stenting patient-specific anatomical model of the coronary arteries is extracted from medical image data of a patient Blood flow is simulated in the pre-stenting patient-specific anatomical model of the coronary arteries with a modified pressure-drop model that simulates an effect of stenting on a target stenosis region used to compute a pressure drop over the target stenosis region. Parameter values for the modified pressure-drop model are set without modifying the pre-stenting patient-specific anatomical model of the coronary arteries. A predicted post-stenting hemodynamic metric for the target stenosis region, such as fractional flow reserve (FFR), is calculated based on the pressure-drop over the target stenosis region computed using the modified pressure-drop model.