Simulation of Perfusion Flow Dynamics for Contrast Enhanced Imaging

Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography is an imaging tool that aids in evaluating functional characteristics in different stages of disease assessment: diagnostic, treatment effectiveness and monitoring. At the present time, following all the technological advances, there remains no universally validated method of quantitative, non-invasive, perfusion imaging. In order to address this challenge, certain quality assurance flow phantoms have been developed. This work presents the first step in the prospective framework of phantom simulations with the goal of enhancing the understanding of contrast agent kinetics. Existing knowledge about a two-compartmental fluid exchange phantom was used to validate the constructed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation model. The sensitivity of various parameters, both in the geometric and computational domains, was determined. Finally, the model was employed to evaluate current perfusion parameter estimation models. This provides the groundwork for future phantom developments within the framework.