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Fundus Image Based Blood Flow Simulation of the Retinal Arteries

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Computational Biomechanics for Medicine

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations can help to understand the hemodynamics of the retinal vascular network and the microcirculation. Systemic diseases, like hypertension and diabetes, change the geometry of the vasculature in the retina and these changes can be seen with fundus photography. Furthermore, these changes are indicators of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study is to create a plane 2D model of the retinal arterial network based on a high-resolution fundus photograph and to perform a CFD simulation. The blood vessels were segmented from the image with the Frangi filter method. A structural fractal tree was implemented to calculate the outflow boundary conditions representing the peripheral vascular bed. With the Frangi filter method and the high-resolution fundus image a comprehensive model of the visible retinal artery network could be achieved. The simulation results show realistic velocity and pressure distributions of the retinal blood flow in a healthy retina compared to in-vivo measurements in the literature. This work is an initial step towards creating comprehensive patient-specific models of the retinal vasculature based on readily available fundus photography.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vascular Engineering, School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

    Andreas Kristen, Lachlan Kelsey & Barry Doyle

  2. Institute of Medical and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Technology Munich, Garching, Germany

    Erich Wintermantel

Authors
  1. Andreas Kristen
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  2. Lachlan Kelsey
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  3. Erich Wintermantel
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  4. Barry Doyle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barry Doyle .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Intelligent Systems for Medicine Laboratory, School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Grand R. Joldes

  2. Intelligent Systems for Medicine Laboratory, School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Barry Doyle

  3. Intelligent Systems for Medicine Laboratory, School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Adam Wittek

  4. Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Poul M.F. Nielsen

  5. Intelligent Systems for Medicine Laboratory, School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Karol Miller

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Kristen, A., Kelsey, L., Wintermantel, E., Doyle, B. (2016). Fundus Image Based Blood Flow Simulation of the Retinal Arteries. In: Joldes, G., Doyle, B., Wittek, A., Nielsen, P., Miller, K. (eds) Computational Biomechanics for Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28329-6_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28329-6_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28327-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28329-6

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