Investigation of Fetal Right Ventricular Contraction Using Pressure Driven Fluid Structure Interaction Modeling

• Three-Dimensional Simulation Model: ○ Successfully developed a three-dimensional simulation model in ANSYS to analyze fluid-structure interaction during fetal right ventricle contraction. • Innovative Methods: ○ Implemented an implicit bidirectional coupling method for accurate integration of solid and fluid dynamics. ○ Introduced a unique technique for valve opening and closing and ventricle contraction, which has not been previously reported in studies. • Complex Flow Patterns: ○ Analyzed complex flow patterns within the ventricle during the cardiac cycle, providing significant insights into the hydrodynamics of fetal blood flow. • Key Findings: ○ Detailed pressure and velocity contours were achieved, which are difficult to obtain in vivo. ○ Conducted a thorough examination of pressure and stress distributions in the ventricle, identifying critical areas of maximum stress and strain. Findings: ○ Emphasizes the significance of understanding the mechanical behavior of the fetal heart for assessing fetal cardiovascular health and identifying potential congenital defects. ○ Insights gained could inform future therapeutic approaches and enhance the understanding of fetal heart performance dynamics. Blood circulation in the fetus is a transient physiological phenomenon that does not recur at later stages of human development and differs fundamentally from that of children and adults. Several characteristics distinguish fetal circulation from adult circulation, one of the most notable being the pressure distribution within the cardiac ventricles. In contrast to the adult heart, the fetal right ventricle generates higher pressure and power during the systolic phase to sustain blood circulation. Given that blood flow patterns within the right ventricle are closely related to cardiac health, their hemodynamic examination is essential for prediction, prevention, and the development of treatment strategies. In this study, computational fluid dynamics is employed to simulate blood flow in the fetal right ventricle. The computational domain is constructed using medical imaging data combined with image processing techniques. Ventricular contraction is modeled by applying time-varying pressure to the ventricular wall. A fluid–structure interaction approach is used to capture the coupled behavior of the fluid and solid domains. In the present work, a unique technique is introduced for modeling valve opening and closing as well as ventricular contraction, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been reported in previous studies. The results indicate that the maximum blood velocity through the pulmonary valve reaches 1.73 m/s, while the peak pressure at the outlet is 1722 Pa. Additionally, the maximum ventricular tension and strain occur at 0.25s within the cardiac cycle.