Modeling the Five-Element Windkessel Model with Simultaneous Utilization of Blood Viscoelastic Properties for FFR Achievement: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Maria Fernandes, Luisa C. Sousa, Carlos A. Conceição António () and Sónia I. S. Pinto ()
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Maria Fernandes: Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Luisa C. Sousa: Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Carlos A. Conceição António: Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Sónia I. S. Pinto: Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

Mathematics, 2023, vol. 11, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: Coronary artery diseases (CADs) are a leading cause of death worldwide. Accurate numerical simulations of coronary blood flow, especially in high-risk atherosclerotic patients, have been a major challenge for clinical applications. This study pioneers a novel approach combining the physiologically accurate five-element Windkessel and sPTT models to enhance the accuracy of the hemodynamics and the fractional flow reserve (FFR) parameter. User-defined functions (UDFs) of the outlet pressure boundary condition (Windkessel model) and the viscoelastic characteristics of blood (sPTT model) were developed and dynamically loaded with ANSYS ® 2023 software. In a proof-of-concept study, a patient’s left coronary artery with 40% stenosis was provided by the hospital for further analysis. The numerical FFR value obtained in the present work skews only 0.37% from the invasive measurement in the hospital. This highlights the important roles of both blood viscoelasticity and the five-element Windkessel model in hemodynamic simulations. This proof-of-concept of the FFR numerical calculation tool provides a promising comprehensive assessment of atherosclerosis in a fast, accurate, more affordable, and fully non-invasive manner. After validation with more patient cases in the future, this tool could be employed in hospitals and offer a more accurate and individualized approach for the diagnosis and treatment of CAD.

Keywords: computational programming; user-defined functions; hemodynamic simulations; coronary arteries; Windkessel model; viscoelastic property of blood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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