Anatomically realistic lumen motion representation in patient-specific space–time isogeometric flow analysis of coronary arteries with time-dependent medical-image data

Patient-specific computational flow analysis of coronary arteries with time-dependent medical-image data can provide valuable information to doctors making treatment decisions. Reliable computational analysis requires a good core method, high-fidelity space and time discretizations, and an anatomically realistic representation of the lumen motion. The space–time variational multiscale (ST-VMS) method has a good track record as a core method. The ST framework, in a general context, provides higher-order accuracy. The VMS feature of the ST-VMS addresses the computational challenges associated with the multiscale nature of the unsteady flow in the artery. The moving-mesh feature of the ST framework enables high-resolution flow computation near the moving fluid–solid interfaces. The ST isogeometric analysis is a superior discretization method. With IGA basis functions in space, it enables more accurate representation of the lumen geometry and increased accuracy in the flow solution. With IGA basis functions in time, it enables a smoother representation of the lumen motion and a mesh motion consistent with that. With cubic NURBS in time, we obtain a continuous acceleration from the lumen-motion representation. Here we focus on making the lumen-motion representation anatomically realistic. We present a method to obtain from medical-image data in discrete form an anatomically realistic NURBS representation of the lumen motion, without sudden, unrealistic changes introduced by the higher-order representation. In the discrete projection from the medical-image data to the NURBS representation, we supplement the least-squares terms with two penalty terms, corresponding to the first and second time derivatives of the control-point trajectories. The penalty terms help us avoid the sudden unrealistic changes. The computation we present demonstrates the effectiveness of the method.