3D FLOW SIMULATIONS IN A SIMPLIFIED RIGHT VENTRICLE MODEL
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Copyright 2014 by ASME. The right ventricle (RV) pumps the de-oxygenated blood to the lungs for oxygen absorption. Characterizing the RV geometry, its motion, and the ventricular flow is critical in assessing the heart's health to provide important clinical diagnostic and prognostic information. However, RV flow has not been observed as closely as the flow in the left side of the heart. The current imaging techniques are limited in their ability to characterize the three-dimensional flow of blood through the heart. There is no single experimental technique available today capable of comprehensively quantifying the 3D flow pattern of blood in heart. As a result, there exists a need for computer simulations in order to understand the complex 3D flow pattern in the heart. In this paper, the sharp-interface immersed boundary method was used to carry out simulations of the flow in a simplified RV model. The reconstructed geometry of the RV was approximated to have a crescent-shape cross-section. In contrast to the previous work, in which the atrium was ignored, the atrium was added with an almost spherical shape attached above the RV. The RV motion was prescribed based on a model that produces physiologic flow waveforms for the RV. The simulations show a complex swirling flow pattern in the RV and the formation of a vortex ring during diastole.
