Velocity fields in an aorta model
The goal of this project is to analyze the phase averaged flow fields obtained by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Particle Tracking Velocimetry (3D-PTV) and propose a novel method for an accurate registration of the two coordinate systems. The results obtained from this project will be a good test case for groups using two different techniques to assess the geometries and/or flow fields. The project will also provide instructive results for the medical community working on voxel-wise comparison of two different data sets.
Description
The accuracy of the voxel-wise comparison of the flow field in arteries obtained by two different methods is still debatable as there is a need to match the rotational and translational movement of the two geometries. Hence, it is important to find a novel technique for the in-vitro measurements to match the coordinate systems of the geometries obtained by 3D-PTV and MRI.
A non-intrusive measurement technique, 3D-PTV, will be applied to the aortic phantom. 3D-PTV has been in use for several decades as a flow measurement technique. It allows to access particle trajectories, flow velocities, velocity fluctuations and velocity derivatives simultaneously. MRI has been widely used as an imaging tool. Thanks to the recent developments over the last decade, MRI can be utilized to assess the flow velocity vector fields in human arteries.
Objectives of the project
The goal of this project is to investigate the voxel-wise comparison of the phase averaged flow patterns in a silicon aortic model obtained by 3D-PTV and MRI. Both techniques will be performed in an anatomically accurate rigid and compliant models. A novel method will be proposed to improve the correlation of the voxel-wise velocity mapping obtained by two non-invasive techniques.