A Coupled Computational Framework for Multiscale Modeling and Optimization of Single Ventricle Repair

Multiscale modeling provides a means to relate global response to local changes in geometry and hemodynamics in the circulatory system. In this work, we couple a customized lumped parameter network (LPN) representing the whole circulation (heart, systemic and pulmonary circulations) to three-dimensional finite element models of two stages of the single ventricle surgical pathway. A fully-coupled closed-loop approach is employed using custom codes with Neumann boundary conditions at the inlets and outlets. The methodology is described, and applied to two stages of single ventricle repair to illustrate its utility: the BT-shunt (stage 1), and the Fontan surgery (stage 3).