A Coupled Flow-Thermoregulation Lumped Model to Investigate Cardiac Function

Abstract

AbstractLumped (zero-dimensional) technique is a robust and widely used approach to mathematically model and explore bulk behaviour of different physical phenomena in a lower expense. In modelling of cardio/cerebrovascular fluid dynamics, this technique facilitates the assessment of relevant metrics such as flow, pressure, and temperature at different locations over a large network/domain. Furthermore, they can be employed as boundary conditions in multiscale modelling of physiological flows. In this methodology paper, a lumped model for the cardiovascular flow simulation along with a two-node thermoregulation model are employed. The lumped models are built upon previous studies and are amended appropriately to focus on cardiac function. The output of the coupled model can either be used for assessing the cardiac function in different physiological conditions or it can provide the input data for other investigations. Noteworthy to mention that, the present model has been specifically developed for investigation on the effects of atrial fibrillation on cardiac performance.