Simulation of Pulsatile Blood Flow Through Various Cardiac Defects and Quantitative Measurements of Shunted Blood Volume

Congenital heart defects such as Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), which are the most common ones, are treated with minimally invasive surgery using occlusion devices. Newer devices have been proposed on micro- and nano-materials. To improve efficiency and to reduce failure of this mode of treatment, it is important to simulate blood flow through defect before and after placement of device and calculate shunting of blood volume. We present here blood flow through atria and aorta in normal and defect conditions. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used for modeling and simulation using ANSYS 14.5. Blood is simulated as Newtonian and incompressible with pulsatile nature. The model of upper two chambers of heart is modeled with and without ASD. The simulation showed shunting from left atrium to right atrium in case of ASD and volume of shunted blood is calculated with variation in shape and size of defect. PDA is modeled as tube between pulmonary artery and aorta, and shunting is calculated with variation in shape and size of PDA. The simulation can be extended further by simulating placement of device in defect and evaluating its efficiency in terms of occluding the defect. Our simulation could enable novel designs based on nano-materials and treatment modalities.