Reconstruction of the blood velocity from limited number of tracer particle data

What is it about?

Lack of enough data is common in many measurement techniques, such as the novel biomedical application of positron emission particle tracking (PEPT). We used a method called the Gaussian process, a.k.a. kriging, to reconstruct the blood velocity in locally narrowed coronary arteries using the data from a limited number of particles and compare the results with the velocity field calculated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We studied three models representing varying severity and anatomical complexity: a narrowed straight tube, an idealized coronary bifurcation with stenosis, and patient-specific coronary arteries with a stenotic left circumflex artery. We found that kriging tended to overestimate area-averaged velocity in higher occlusion cases but accurately predicted maximum cross-sectional velocity. Importantly, kriging proved practical in estimating maximum velocity after stenosis, especially when the negative near-wall velocity did not exist.

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Photo by FlyD on Unsplash

Photo by FlyD on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Using positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) in biomedical settings is novel and has many unknown aspects. This research contributes valuable insights into Gaussian process application for accurate velocity reconstruction in assessing coronary artery disease.

Perspectives