Optimal measurement locations for diagnosis of aortic abnormalities in a lumped-parameter model of the systemic circulation using sensitivity analysis

The basic theme of this work is to identify the optimal measurement locations for pressure and flow in the systemic circulation to detect aortic stenoses and aneurysms in early stages of a disease. For this purpose, a linear elastic lumped parameter model of the fluid dynamical simulator, major arterial cardiovascular simulator (MACSim), is considered and global sensitivity analysis is applied to identify the better measurement locations for pressure and flow in the systemic circulation. The obtained results of sensitivity analysis provide insight that enable the experimentalists to optimize their experimental setups for detecting aortic stenoses and aneurysms using parameter estimation process. From the results, it is observed that the stenosis in the thoracic aorta can be identified from both pressure and flow at the location itself, nearby nodes, aorta ascendens, arcus aorta, arteria subclavia and arteria axillaris. On the other hand, the preferable measurement locations for abdominal aneurysms are locations themselves, nearby nodes and left/right leg of the body.

Study on the Depth, Rate, Shape, and Strength of Pulse with Cardiovascular Simulator

Pulse diagnosis is important in oriental medicine. The purpose of this study is explaining the mechanisms of pulse with a cardiovascular simulator. The simulator is comprised of the pulse generating part, the vessel part, and the measurement part. The pulse generating part was composed of motor, slider-crank mechanism, and piston pump. The vessel part, which was composed with the aorta and a radial artery, was fabricated with silicon to implement pulse wave propagation. The pulse parameters, such as the depth, rate, shape, and strength, were simulated. With changing the mean pressure, the floating pulse and the sunken pulse were generated. The change of heart rate generated the slow pulse and the rapid pulse. The control of the superposition time of the reflected wave generated the string-like pulse and the slippery pulse. With changing the pulse pressure, the vacuous pulse and the replete pulse were generated. The generated pulses showed good agreements with the typical pulses.

Development of a Cardiovascular Simulator for Studying Pulse Diagnosis Mechanisms

This research was undertaken to develop a cardiovascular simulator for use in the study of pulse diagnosis. The physical (i.e., pulse wave transmission and reflection) and physiological (i.e., systolic and diastolic pressure, pulse pressure, and mean pressure) characteristics of the radial pulse wave were reproduced by our simulator. The simulator consisted of an arterial component and a pulse-generating component. Computer simulation was used to simplify the arterial component while maintaining the elastic modulus and artery size. To improve the reflected wave characteristics, a palmar arch was incorporated within the simulator. The simulated radial pulse showed good agreement with clinical data.