Development of a Numerical Method for Patient-Specific Cerebral Circulation Using 1D–0D Simulation of the Entire Cardiovascular System with SPECT Data

The detailed flow information in the circle of Willis (CoW) can facilitate a better understanding of disease progression, and provide useful references for disease treatment. We have been developing a one-dimensional–zero-dimensional (1D–0D) simulation method for the entire cardiovascular system to obtain hemodynamics information in the CoW. This paper presents a new method for applying 1D–0D simulation to an individual patient using patient-specific data. The key issue is how to adjust the deviation of physiological parameters, such as peripheral resistance, from literature data when patient-specific geometry is used. In order to overcome this problem, we utilized flow information from single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) data. A numerical method was developed to optimize physiological parameters by adjusting peripheral cerebral resistance to minimize the difference between the resulting flow rate and the SPECT data in the efferent arteries of the CoW. The method was applied to three cases using different sets of patient-specific data in order to investigate the hemodynamics of the CoW. The resulting flow rates in the afferent arteries were compared to those of the phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography (PC-MRA) data. Utilization of the SPECT data combined with the PC-MRA data showed a good agreement in flow rates in the afferent arteries of the CoW with those of PC-MRA data for all three cases. The results also demonstrated that application of SPECT data alone could provide the information on the ratios of flow distributions among arteries in the CoW.