A Modelling Study of Pulmonary Regurgitation in a Personalized Human Heart.

Pulmonary regurgitation is a frequent outcome of repaired tetralogy of Fallot, and its chronicity could have a detrimental effect on right ventricle function. To evaluate the effects of PR on cardiac functions, a subject-specific bi-ventricular model is developed in this study coupled with a closed-loop parameter model to depict systemic and pulmonary circulations. After calibrating the normal bi-ventricle model with in vivo measurement, pulmonary regurgitation is introduced by a one-directional channel connecting the right ventricle and pulmonary artery. We have demonstrated that this developed bi-ventricular model can reproduce the main characteristics of cardiac functions under pulmonary regurgitation, such as increased end-diastolic pressure and volume, diminishment of isovolumetric relaxation, enhanced active tension in the right ventricle, and the bulged septum towards the left ventricle. Once validated, it is believed this cardiac model will be very useful to provide insights into cardiac biomechanical function under pulmonary regurgitation.