Method and System for Patient-Specific Modeling of Blood Flow

• US 20120041739A1
• Filed: 01/25/2011
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Heartflow Inc.
• Original Assignee: Heartflow Inc.
• Inventors: Taylor, Charles A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,315,812 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/11
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Abstract

Embodiments include a system for determining cardiovascular information for a patient. The system may include at least one computer system configured to receive patient-specific data regarding a geometry of the patient'"'"'s heart, and create a three-dimensional model representing at least a portion of the patient'"'"'s heart based on the patient-specific data. The at least one computer system may be further configured to create a physics-based model relating to a blood flow characteristic of the patient'"'"'s heart and determine a fractional flow reserve within the patient'"'"'s heart based on the three-dimensional model and the physics-based model.

Claims

1. A system for determining cardiovascular information for a patient, the system comprising:

at least one computer system configured to;

receive patient-specific data regarding a geometry of the patient'"'"'s heart;

create a three-dimensional model representing at least a portion of the patient'"'"'s heart based on the patient-specific data;

create a physics-based model relating to a blood flow characteristic of the patient'"'"'s heart; and

determine a fractional flow reserve within the patient'"'"'s heart based on the three-dimensional model and the physics-based model.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional model representing at least the portion of the patient'"'"'s heart includes at least a portion of an aorta and at least a portion of a plurality of coronary arteries emanating from the portion of the aorta.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the fractional flow reserve indicates a ratio between a pressure in the aorta and a pressure at a location in the plurality of coronary arteries; and

the at least one computer system is configured to determine the fractional flow reserve at a plurality of locations in the plurality of coronary arteries.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the patient-specific data includes imaging data.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the imaging data is provided by computer tomography or magnetic resonance imaging techniques.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one computer system is configured to create the three-dimensional model based on the imaging data by locating boundaries of lumens of coronary arteries of the patient'"'"'s heart using the imaging data.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one computer system is configured to locate the boundaries based on changes in intensity values in the imaging data.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the physics-based model includes at least one lumped parameter model representing a blood flow through boundaries of the three-dimensional model.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computer system is configured to determine the fractional flow reserve using a parameter associated with at least one of a level of hyperemia, a level of exercise, or a medication.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one computer system is configured to determine the fractional flow reserve using a parameter associated with the level of hyperemia, and the parameter relates to a coronary artery resistance of the patient, an aortic blood pressure of the patient, or a heart rate of the patient.

11. A method for determining patient-specific cardiovascular information using at least one computer system, the method comprising:

inputting into the at least one computer system patient-specific data regarding a geometry of the patient'"'"'s heart;

creating, using the at least one computer system, a three-dimensional model representing at least a portion of the patient'"'"'s heart based on the patient-specific data;

creating, using the at least one computer system, a physics-based model relating to a blood flow characteristic of the patient'"'"'s heart; and

determining, using the at least one computer system, a fractional flow reserve within the patient'"'"'s heart based on the three-dimensional model and the physics-based model.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining a location of a functionally significant narrowing in a coronary artery of the patient'"'"'s heart based on the determined fractional flow reserve.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the three-dimensional model representing at least the portion of the patient'"'"'s heart includes at least a portion of an aorta and at least a portion of a plurality of coronary arteries emanating from the portion of the aorta.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the fractional flow reserve indicates a ratio between a pressure in the aorta and a pressure at a location in the plurality of coronary arteries; and

the fractional flow reserve is determined at a plurality of locations in the plurality of coronary arteries.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the patient-specific data includes imaging data of the patient'"'"'s heart, and creating the three-dimensional model includes locating boundaries of lumens of the plurality of coronary arteries of the patient'"'"'s heart using the imaging data.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the boundaries are located based on changes in intensity values in the imaging data.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium for use on at least one computer system containing computer-executable programming instructions for performing a method for determining patient-specific cardiovascular information, the method comprising:

receiving patient-specific data regarding a geometry of the patient'"'"'s heart;

creating a three-dimensional model representing at least a portion of the patient'"'"'s heart based on the patient-specific data;

creating a physics-based model relating to a blood flow characteristic in the patient'"'"'s heart; and

determining a fractional flow reserve within the patient'"'"'s heart based on the three-dimensional model and the physics-based model.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, the method further comprising:

preparing a three-dimensional simulation of the patient'"'"'s heart indicating the fractional flow reserve at a plurality of locations in coronary arteries of the heart along three dimensions.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the fractional flow reserve is indicated on the three-dimensional simulation using colors or shading, and changes in the fractional flow reserve are indicated by changes in color or shading.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein:

the three-dimensional model representing at least the portion of the patient'"'"'s heart includes at least a portion of an aorta and at least a portion of a plurality of coronary arteries emanating from the portion of the aorta; and

the three-dimensional simulation indicates the fractional flow reserve at a plurality of locations in the coronary arteries.

21-184. -184. (canceled)