Three-dimensional motion analysis of the right ventricle using an electromechanical biventricular model

Abstract

Previous mechanical heart models were mainly constructed for analysis of the left ventricle behavior, and the right ventricle was almost not included because of its complex geometry structure. The motion of the healthy right ventricle and its alteration due to disease are not currently well understood. In this paper, a 3-D finite element biventricular model with real geometric shape and fiber structure has been constructed and the right ventricular wall motion and deformation during systole phase have been simulated. The results show that: 1) The right ventricular free wall moves towards the septum, and at the same time, the base and middle of the free wall move towards the apex, which reduce the volume of right ventricle; 2) The minimum principal strain is largest at the apex, then at the middle of free wall, and its direction is in the approximate direction of the epicardial muscle fibers. The results are in good accordance with solutions obtained from MR tagging images. © Springer-Verlag 2004.