A pediatric cardiologist and cardiac surgeon at the University of Oklahoma are working with a biomedical engineer. It is a kind of research that is uncommon in the country. They are developing computational models to aid in their deeper understanding of the complexities of individual hearts. Thereby utilizing the knowledge and resources of their respective domains.
Computational models to detect heart valve leakage
A computer model provides a simulated view of the geometry of the valves, potential weak points, the blood moving through the valves and possible surgical treatments to prevent future problems. Traditional imaging techniques, such as echocardiograms, provide an image of the heart in action.
OU Health pediatric heart surgeon Harold Burkhart, M.D. said
Because of our multidisciplinary collaboration, we have the knowledge together to create a computational model that goes beyond what we are able to see with both 2D and 3D echocardiogram. It allows us to go a step further and visualize the heart as it would be in real life with the characteristics of each individual
The study began with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. It is a serious birth abnormality in which the left side of a baby’s heart does not form properly. It cannot pump blood effectively, leaving the right side to pump blood to the lungs and the rest of the body.
The condition is frequently fatal if the defect cannot be repaired with a series of three open-heart surgeries. Amid such investigations, they are currently creating computer models for atrioventricular canal defects. It is commonly referred to as “holes in the heart” since the newborn has a hole in the wall that divides the heart’s chambers.
Chung-Hao Lee, Ph.D., a former OU biomedical engineering researcher at the University of California, Riverside, collaborates with Burkhart and Mir. Utilizing concepts from fluid dynamics, geometry, physics, and biotechnology, he constructs computational models to produce previously unimagined objects. The studies’ patients’ 2D and 3D echocardiograms are provided by Burkhart and Mir to calibrate and predict the models. Over the coming years, they will keep collecting data from patients at various intervals.
Lee said.
Through this image-based computational model, we want to provide the missing information—which patients will have valve dysfunction,”
