Combined CFD/MRI Analysis of Left Ventricular Flow

The relationship between the morphology and blood flow of the Left Ventricle (LV) during myocardial remodelling is complex and not yet fully understood. Cardiovascular MR (CMR) velocity imaging is a versatile tool for the observation of general flow patterns in-vivo. More detailed understanding of the coupled relationship between blood flow patterns and myocardial wall motion can be further enhanced by the combined use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and CMR. This permits the generation of comprehensive high-resolution velocity fields and the assessment of dynamic indices, such as mass transport and wall shear stress, that are important but cannot be measured directly by using imaging alone. One of the key drawbacks of ventricular flow simulation using CFD is that it is sensitive to the prescribed inflow boundary conditions. Current research in this area is limited and the extent to which this affects in-vivo flow simulation is unknown. In this work, we measure this sensitivity as a function of the inflow direction and determine the limit that is required for accurate ventricular flow simulation. This represents an important step towards the development of a combined MR/CFD technique for detailed LV flow analysis.