Patent ID: 9135381
Filing Date: 2015-09-15
Classification: G06F,G09B,G16H

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for simulating blood flow through a native heart valve, the method comprising: receiving patient-specific imaging data related to the native heart valve, an inflow tract of the native heart valve and an outflow tract of the native heart valve; receiving at least one patient-specific clinically measured flow parameter related to blood flow through the native heart valve and the inflow and outflow tracts; generating a rigid-walled geometric model of the native heart valve and the inflow and outflow tracts at a single point in time, based at least partially on the imaging data, the rigid-walled geometric model having modeling parameters; discretizing the rigid-walled geometric model; applying boundary conditions, corresponding to desired flow, to a portion of the rigid-walled geometric model that contains the native heart valve and the inflow and outflow tracts, wherein applying the boundary conditions comprises selecting boundary conditions based at least partially on patient-specific clinical measurements; initializing and solving mathematical equations of blood flow through the rigid-walled geometric model to generate a first set of computerized flow parameters by simulating blood flow through the model while the model characterizes physical features of an anatomic topology of the native heart valve and inflow and outflow tracts at the single point in time; comparing the first set of computerized flow parameters with the at least one clinically measured flow parameter; adjusting at least one of the modeling parameters of the rigid-walled geometric model based on the comparing of the first set of computerized flow parameters with the at least one clinically measured flow parameter, wherein the at least one of the modeling parameters comprises at least one of the physical features of an anatomic topology; re-solving the mathematical equations to generate a second set of computerized flow parameters that agrees more closely with the at least one clinically measured flow parameter than the first set of computerized flow parameters agrees with the at least one clinically measured flow parameter, the closer agreement indicating a more accurate rigid-walled geometric model; and repeating the comparing, adjusting and re-solving steps until a desired level of agreement is reached between a most recently calculated set of computerized flow parameters and the at least one clinically measured flow parameter.