Evaluating isovelocity surface area flow convergence method with finite element modeling

C. G. DeGroff, A. M. Baptista, D. J. Sahn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Through numerical experimentation we investigated the isovelocity surface area flow convergence method used in estimating regurgitant valve flow rates. Recent advances in three-dimensional color Doppler flow imaging have created renewed interest in this method. Experimentation was based on the use of depth-averaged finite element models of the left heart. The heart models studied varied from 'synthetic' representations to a model of a left heart traced from an actual echocardiographic image of a patient with a prolapsed mitral valve. The isovelocity surface area flow convergence method overestimated regurgitant flow rates throughout the Nyquist limits considered with a critical Nyquist limit in which this overestimation is minimized. The angle dependence of Doppler color flow imaging partially corrects for this overestimation. The isovelocity surface area flow convergence method is a viable alternative to methods currently in use. Through numerical experimentation, we have begun to shed light on the inaccuracies inherent in this flow convergence method.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)809-818
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of the American Society of Echocardiography
Volume11
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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