Workflow For Creating a Simulation Ready Virtual Population For Finite Element Modeling

Abstract

Three dimensional image-based meshing of multipart structures from medical scan data continues to reveal exciting new possibilities for the application of simulation techniques to a wide range of biomedical problems. However, significant challenges to creating a population of simulation compatible models still exist. These include: 1) dataset availability—due to privacy rules and cost, very few readily available dataset repositories of human phantoms exist; 2) segmentation difficulty—segmentation of scan datasets is extremely man-hour intensive. Effort is often measured by months to years for a single model; 3) clean CAD model extraction—the faceted volumetric meshes and CAD geometry must contain conformal face mapping between touching objects. Since traditional part-by-part meshing approaches risk gaps or overlap between adjacent parts, manual and time consuming repair may be required. This paper demonstrates a potential solution to these challenges through a fast and efficient workflow that begins with newly available anatomical geometries, and culminates in a solved multi-object computational simulation. Using the new series of 4D extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantoms created by Segars et al., we use ScanIP (Simpleware Ltd., Exeter, UK) to convert these datasets into multi-object simulation ready geometry files that are imported into HFSS (ANSYS Inc., Canonsburg, PA) for EM simulation and analysis.