Objectives: 

The ability to predict the pressure, flow and other parameters at any site in arteries can lead to a better understanding of the vascular function. The objective of this study is to develop a model of the cardiovascular system capable of simulating the normal function of the systemic circulation.

Materials: 

The model consists of a closed loop lumped elements with 40 compartments representing the cardiovascular system. The model parameters have been extracted from the literature. Using MATLAB software, the mathematical model has been simulated for the cardiovascular system. Each compartment includes a Resistor-Inductor-Capacitor (RLC) segment. The model is mathematically formulated in terms of an electric circuit. This model can be divided into two main parts: the heart (left and right), including atriums and ventricles, and the arterial system.

Results: 

We have developed and implemented a method to prescribe outflow boundary conditions for three-dimensional finite element simulations of blood flow based on the Dirichlet-to-Neumann method and the method of disjoint decomposition. The numerical results presented demonstrate that physiologic values of pressure can be attained and illustrate the importance of using appropriate boundary conditions. A long straight cylindrical blood vessel is used to demonstrate that realistic blood pressures can be calculated using this method and that the choice of the outlet boundary conditions has a significant effect on the computed pressure field. Results have been shown for specific 3D geometries using physiological values.

Conclusions: 

This model has expressed a deeper study on cardiovascular system hemodynamics. We have outlined the use of the model as a tool to better understand the physiology of the system and study the related diseases. Coupling to the non-linear one-dimensional equations of blood flow may be needed for non-periodic three-dimensional flow problems.