Numerical Simulator for Estimation of Mechanical Function of Human Left Ventricle : Study of Basic System

A numerical simulation system for the estimation of mechanical properties and functions of the human left ventricle has been constructed in an interdisciplinary research project spanning the medical and engineering fields. The numerical simulation system can be expected to improve the diagnostic techniques for heart diseases from empirical, subjective, and qualitative ones to scientific, objective and quantitative ones. The system is integrated by four fundamental models : (1) a mechanical model of myocardial muscle fiber which produces the active force, (2) a mechanical model of the left ventricle which is composed of the model muscle fiber, (3) a transmission model of electric stimulus, and (4) a circulatory system model which gives the after-and pre-loads to the left ventricular model. In this paper, the fundamental system of the simulator is explained, and some typical examples of computational results obtained by this system are shown and discussed.