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Alexander D. Kaiser

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander D. Kaiser.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Semi-Automated Generation and Hemodynamic Assessment of Surgical Baffle Geometry for Biventricular Repair

Patient-specific computational modeling has emerged as a powerful tool for surgical planning in complex congenital heart disease. One promising application is complex biventricular repair, which often requires construction of a custom intraventricular baffle to establish a physiologic left ventricle-to-aorta outflow pathway. In current practice, baffle geometry is designed and shaped intraoperatively and preoperative planning remains largely manual, limiting the ability to generate anatomically conformal, watertight models suitable for quantitative hemodynamic assessment. In this work, we present a semi-automated computational framework for the design and assessment of patient-specific intraventricular baffles. The method constructs an explicit VSD-to-aorta flow pathway, preserves native right ventricular geometry, and reshapes only the baffle region using section-wise area constraints along a physiologically aligned centerline. The resulting geometry is integrated into a closed, multi-labeled domain for computational fluid dynamics analysis. We retrospectively applied this framework to four patients with double outlet right ventricle (DORV) who previously underwent biventricular repair. For each case, a patient-specific baffle was generated and its hemodynamic performance was evaluated using CFD. Predicted pressure gradients across the reconstructed outflow were within clinically acceptable ranges and comparable to the patients' postoperative echocardiographs. This approach enables quantitative, pre-operative design and evaluation of candidate baffle geometries and provides a reproducible method for generating simulation-ready models. By combining physiologically constrained geometric design with CFD-based assessment, the framework represents a step toward computational, patient-specific decision support for biventricular flow restoration in a complex heterogeneous patient population.

cs.CE

Comparative analysis of resistive immersed surface and immersed boundary methods for aortic valve simulation

Numerical modeling of aortic valve dynamics is essential for understanding the complex fluid-structure interaction (FSI) governing valve biomechanics in health and disease. Immersed methods provide a flexible computational framework for simulating the large deformations of valve leaflets and associated blood flow without requiring body-fitted meshes. Among these approaches, the Resistive Immersed Surface (RIS) and Immersed Boundary (IB) methods are widely used. However, systematic comparative analysis of these methods for realistic aortic valve simulations has not been performed. In this work, we compare a prescribed-kinematics RIS workflow implemented in SimVascular's svMultiPhysics solver with a fully coupled IB workflow using IBAMR for trileaflet and bicuspid aortic valve configurations. The RIS method represents the valve as a surface with prescribed kinematics embedded in the fluid domain and introduces a penalty force that drives the surrounding fluid velocity toward the prescribed leaflet velocity. This formulation reduces modeling complexity and provides useful hemodynamic predictions when representative leaflet kinematics are available. In contrast, the IB method models the leaflets as elastic structures fully immersed in the fluid domain and resolves leaflet deformation through fully coupled two-way FSI. The study focuses on the extent to which RIS reproduces bulk hemodynamic features and transvalvular pressure gradients. Results show that the RIS method captures the large-scale flow structures and predicts the mean transvalvular pressure gradient with a relative error within 15% of the fully coupled IB simulation, improving to within 5% when inlet boundary conditions are matched, while reducing computational cost by approximately 60%.

physics.flu-dyn

Simulations Predict Improved Valve Performance Without Direct Leaflet Intervention After Neonatal Truncus Arteriosus Repair

Truncus arteriosus (TA) is a rare and severe congenital heart disease. Quadricuspid valve morphology occurs in 25% of all TA patients and is linked to regurgitation and increased risk of re-operation. It remains unclear how hemodynamic changes after TA repair alter valve performance. This study simulated pre- and postoperative conditions in a neonatal TA patient to investigate valve performance without direct intervention. We hypothesize that valve performance before and after truncal repair can be predicted in-silico, matching in-vivo imaging and identifying mechanisms how hemodynamic changes after repair will reduce valve regurgitation without direct intervention. Pre- and postoperative CT images of a neonatal patient with quadricuspid valve were segmented. Free edge length and geometric height from the patient's echocardiogram were used to model the valve. For the preoperative condition, ventricular pressures were set equal modeling an unrestricted ventricular septal defect. Systemic and pulmonary resistances were tuned based on the patient's Qp:Qs ratio. For the postoperative condition, boundary conditions were modified to mimic patient-specific hemodynamics after TA repair. The preoperative simulation confirmed mild valve regurgitation seen in-vivo. Interaction between asymmetric flow and surrounding vessel resulted in asymmetric opening and closing. Poor central coaptation led to a central regurgitant jet toward the septum. Altered postoperative hemodynamics improved coaptation and eliminated regurgitation, as seen in-vivo. This modeling approach reproduced in-vivo pre- and postoperative valve performance and identified mechanisms improving coaptation after TA repair. TA repair led to elimination of regurgitation due to enhanced central coaptation. Thus, altered postoperative hemodynamic conditions after TA repair may improve valve performance without direct leaflet intervention.

q-bio.TO

Simulation-Based Design of Bicuspidization of the Aortic Valve

Objective: Severe congenital aortic valve pathology in the growing patient remains a challenging clinical scenario. Bicuspidization of the diseased aortic valve has proven to be a promising repair technique with acceptable durability. However, most understanding of the procedure is empirical and retrospective. This work seeks to design the optimal gross morphology associated with surgical bicuspidization with simulations, based on the hypothesis that modifications to the free edge length cause or relieve stenosis. Methods: Model bicuspid valves were constructed with varying free edge lengths and gross morphology. Fluid-structure interaction simulations were conducted in a single patient-specific model geometry. The models were evaluated for primary targets of stenosis and regurgitation. Secondary targets were assessed and included qualitative hemodynamics, geometric height, effective height, orifice area and billow. Results: Stenosis decreased with increasing free edge length and was pronounced with free edge length $\leq$1.3 times the annular diameter d. With free edge length 1.5d or greater, no stenosis occurred. All models were free of regurgitation. Substantial billow occurred with free edge length $\geq$1.7d. Conclusions: Free edge length $\geq$1.5d was required to avoid aortic stenosis in simulations. Cases with free edge length $\geq$1.7d showed excessive billow and other changes in gross morphology. Cases with free edge length 1.5-1.6d have a total free edge length approximately equal to the annular circumference and appeared optimal. These effects should be studied in vitro and in animal studies.

q-bio.TO

A Fluid-Structure Interaction Model of the Zebrafish Aortic Valve

The zebrafish is a valuable model organism for studying cardiac development and diseases due to its many shared aspects of genetics and anatomy with humans and ease of experimental manipulations. Computational fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations are an efficient and highly controllable means to study the function of cardiac valves in development and diseases. Due to their small scales, little is known about the mechanical properties of zebrafish cardiac valves, limiting existing computational studies of zebrafish valves and their interaction with blood. To circumvent these limitations, we took a largely first-principles approach called design-based elasticity that allows us to derive valve geometry, fiber orientation and material properties. In FSI simulations of an adult zebrafish aortic valve, these models produce realistic flow rates when driven by physiological pressures and demonstrate the spatiotemporal dynamics of valvular mechanical properties. These models can be used for future studies of zebrafish cardiac hemodynamics, development, and disease.

q-bio.TO

Comparison of Immersed Boundary Simulations of Heart Valve Hemodynamics against In Vitro 4D Flow MRI Data

The immersed boundary (IB) method is a mathematical framework for fluid-structure interaction problems (FSI) that was originally developed to simulate flows around heart valves. Direct comparison of FSI simulations around heart valves against experimental data is challenging, however, due to the difficulty of performing robust and effective simulations, the complications of modeling a specific physical experiment, and the need to acquire experimental data that is directly comparable to simulation data. Such comparators are a necessary precursor for further formal validation studies of FSI simulations involving heart valves. In this work, we performed physical experiments of flow through a pulmonary valve in an in vitro pulse duplicator, and measured the corresponding velocity field using 4D flow MRI (4-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging). We constructed a computer model of this pulmonary artery setup, including modeling valve geometry and material properties via a technique called design-based elasticity, and simulated flow through it with the IB method. The simulated flow fields showed excellent qualitative agreement with experiments, excellent agreement on integral metrics, and reasonable relative error in the entire flow domain and on slices of interest. These results illustrate how to construct a computational model of a physical experiment for use as a comparator.

q-bio.TO

Modeling the Mitral Valve

This thesis is concerned with modeling and simulation of the mitral valve, one of the four valves in the human heart. The valve is composed of leaflets attached to a ring, the free edges of which are supported by a system of chordae, which themselves are anchored to muscles inside the heart. First, we examine valve anatomy and show the results of original dissections. These display the gross anatomy and information on fiber structure of the mitral valve. Next, we build a model valve following a design-based approach to elasticity. We incorporate information from the dissections to specify the fiber topology of this model. We assume the valve achieves mechanical equilibrium while supporting a static pressure load. The solution to the resulting differential equations determines the pressurized configuration of the valve model. To complete the model we then specify a constitutive law based on experimental stress-strain relations from the literature. Finally, using the immersed boundary method, we simulate the model valve in fluid in a computer test chamber. The aim of this work is to determine the basic principles and mechanisms underlying the anatomy and function of the mitral valve.

q-bio.TO

Controlled Comparison of Simulated Hemodynamics across Tricuspid and Bicuspid Aortic Valves

Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common congenital heart defect, affecting 1-2% of the global population. Patients with bicuspid valves frequently develop dilation and aneurysms of the ascending aorta. Both hemodynamic and genetic factors are believed to contribute to dilation, yet the precise mechanism underlying this progression remains under debate. Controlled comparisons of hemodynamics in patients with different forms of bicuspid valve disease are challenging because of confounding factors, and simulations offer the opportunity for direct and systematic comparisons. Using fluid-structure interaction simulations, we simulate flows through multiple aortic valve models in a patient-specific geometry. The aortic geometry is based on a healthy patient with no known aortic or valvular disease, which allows us to isolate the hemodynamic consequences of changes to the valve alone. Four fully-passive, elastic model valves are studied: a tricuspid valve and bicuspid valves with fusion of the left- and right-, right- and non-, and non- and left-coronary cusps. The resulting tricuspid flow is relatively uniform, with little secondary or reverse flow, and little to no pressure gradient across the valve. The bicuspid cases show localized jets of forward flow, excess streamwise momentum, elevated secondary and reverse flow, and clinically significant levels of stenosis. Localized high flow rates correspond to locations of dilation observed in patients, with the location related to which valve cusps are fused. Thus, the simulations support the hypothesis that chronic exposure to high local flow contributes to localized dilation and aneurysm formation.

q-bio.TO

A Design-Based Model of the Aortic Valve for Fluid-Structure Interaction

This paper presents a new method for modeling the mechanics of the aortic valve, and simulates its interaction with blood. As much as possible, the model construction is based on first principles, but such that the model is consistent with experimental observations. We require that tension in the leaflets must support a pressure, then derive a system of partial differential equations governing its mechanical equilibrium. The solution to these differential equations is referred to as the predicted loaded configuration; it includes the loaded leaflet geometry, fiber orientations and tensions needed to support the prescribed load. From this configuration, we derive a reference configuration and constitutive law. In fluid-structure interaction simulations with the immersed boundary method, the model seals reliably under physiological pressures, and opens freely over multiple cardiac cycles. Further, model closure is robust to extreme hypo- and hypertensive pressures. Then, exploiting the unique features of this model construction, we conduct experiments on reference configurations, constitutive laws, and gross morphology. These experiments suggest the following conclusions, which are directly applicable to the design of prosthetic aortic valves. (i) The loaded geometry, tensions and tangent moduli primarily determine model function. (ii) Alterations to the reference configuration have little effect if the predicted loaded configuration is identical. (iii) The leaflets must have sufficiently nonlinear material response to function over a variety of pressures. (iv) Valve performance is highly sensitive to free edge length and leaflet height. For future use, our aortic valve modeling framework offers flexibility in patient-specific models of cardiac flow.

q-bio.TO

Gaussian-Like Immersed Boundary Kernels with Three Continuous Derivatives and Improved Translational Invariance

The immersed boundary (IB) method is a general mathematical framework for studying problems involving fluid-structure interactions in which an elastic structure is immersed in a viscous incompressible fluid. In the IB formulation, the fluid described by Eulerian variables is coupled with the immersed structure described by Lagrangian variables via the use of the Dirac delta function. From a numerical standpoint, the Lagrangian force spreading and the Eulerian velocity interpolation are carried out by a regularized, compactly supported discrete delta function, which is assumed to be a tensor product of a single-variable immersed-boundary kernel. IB kernels are derived from a set of postulates designed to achieve approximate grid translational invariance, interpolation accuracy and computational efficiency. In this note, we present new 5-point and 6-point immersed-boundary kernels that are $\mathscr{C}^3$ and yield a substantially improved translational invariance compared to other common IB kernels.

math.NA

Modeling the Mitral Valve

This work is concerned with modeling and simulation of the mitral valve, one of the four valves in the human heart. The valve is composed of leaflets, the free edges of which are supported by a system of chordae, which themselves are anchored to the papillary muscles inside the left ventricle. First, we examine valve anatomy and present the results of original dissections. These display the gross anatomy and information on fiber structure of the mitral valve. Next, we build a model valve following a design-based methodology, meaning that we derive the model geometry and the forces that are needed to support a given load, and construct the model accordingly. We incorporate information from the dissections to specify the fiber topology of this model. We assume the valve achieves mechanical equilibrium while supporting a static pressure load. The solution to the resulting differential equations determines the pressurized configuration of the valve model. To complete the model we then specify a constitutive law based on a stress-strain relation consistent with experimental data that achieves the necessary forces computed in previous steps. Finally, using the immersed boundary method, we simulate the model valve in fluid in a computer test chamber. The model opens easily and closes without leak when driven by physiological pressures over multiple beats. Further, its closure is robust to driving pressures that lack atrial systole or are much lower or higher than normal.

q-bio.TO