Parallel generation of extensive vascular networks with application to an archetypal human kidney model

Cury, L. F. M.; Talou, Gonzalo D. Maso; Younes-Ibrahim, Mauricio; Blanco, Pablo

doi:10.1098/rsos.210973

Cited by 13 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(77 reference statements)

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“…Blood distribution is carried out thanks to an impressive ability to downscale the flow path dimensions, guaranteeing a blood perfusion down to the smallest scales of our body with a minimal loss of pressure (Nitzsche et al, 2022). Several studies have characterised and modelled the structure vascular networks evidencing key organisational features to achieve physiological purposes (Wechsatol et al, 2002;Smith et al, 2019;Cury et al, 2021).…”

Section: Architecture Flow and Design Principles Of The Microvascular...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of artificial vascular devices: Hemodynamic evaluation of shear-induced thrombogenicity

Feaugas

Newman²,

Calzuola³

et al. 2023

Front. Mech. Eng.

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Blood-circulating devices such as oxygenators have offered life-saving opportunities for advanced cardiovascular and pulmonary failures. However, such systems are limited in the mimicking of the native vascular environment (architecture, mechanical forces, operating flow rates and scaffold compositions). Complications involving thrombosis considerably reduce their implementation time and require intensive anticoagulant treatment. Variations in the hemodynamic forces and fluid-mediated interactions between the different blood components determine the risk of thrombosis and are generally not taken sufficiently into consideration in the design of new blood-circulating devices. In this Review article, we examine the tools and investigations around hemodynamics employed in the development of artificial vascular devices, and especially with advanced microfluidics techniques. Firstly, the architecture of the human vascular system will be discussed, with regards to achieving physiological functions while maintaining antithrombotic conditions for the blood. The aim is to highlight that blood circulation in native vessels is a finely controlled balance between architecture, rheology and mechanical forces, altogether providing valuable biomimetics concepts. Later, we summarize the current numerical and experimental methodologies to assess the risk of thrombogenicity of flow patterns in blood circulating devices. We show that the leveraging of both local hemodynamic analysis and nature-inspired architectures can greatly contribute to the development of predictive models of device thrombogenicity. When integrated in the early phase of the design, such evaluation would pave the way for optimised blood circulating systems with effective thromboresistance performances, long-term implantation prospects and a reduced burden for patients.

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Section: Architecture Flow and Design Principles Of The Microvascular...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of artificial vascular devices: Hemodynamic evaluation of shear-induced thrombogenicity

Feaugas

Newman²,

Calzuola³

et al. 2023

Front. Mech. Eng.

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“…Vascular network metrics provide a means for quantitative comparison between individuals, species or pathologies 16,17 and are increasingly used for the simulation of oxygenation, drug delivery, or generating realistic vascular networks for in silico medical trials. 18,19 These applications require metrics including branching angle, radius, tortuosity and length as inputs, and often assume adherence to e.g. Murray's Law.…”

Section: Analysis Of Vascular Network Metrics In the Human Kidney Rev...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the blood vasculature in an intact human kidney using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography

Rahmani

Jafree

Lee

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background: The kidney vasculature is exquisitely structured to orchestrate renal function. Structural profiling of the vasculature in intact rodent kidneys, has provided insights into renal haemodynamics and oxygenation, but has never been extended to the human kidney beyond a few vascular generations. We hypothesised that synchrotron-based imaging of a human kidney would enable assessment of vasculature across the whole organ. Methods: An intact kidney from a 63-year-old male was scanned using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT), followed by semi-automated vessel segmentation and quantitative analysis. These data were compared to published micro-CT data of whole rat kidney. Results: The intact human kidney vascular network was imaged with HiP-CT at 25 μm voxels, representing a 20-fold increase in resolution compared to clinical CT scanners. Our comparative quantitative analysis revealed the number of vessel generations, vascular asymmetry and a structural organisation optimised for minimal resistance to flow, are conserved between species, whereas the normalised radii are not. We further demonstrate regional heterogeneity in vessel geometry between renal cortex, medulla, and hilum, showing how the distance between vessels provides a structural basis for renal oxygenation and hypoxia. Conclusions: Through the application of HiP-CT, we have provided the first quantification of the human renal arterial network, with a resolution comparable to that of light microscopy yet at a scale several orders of magnitude larger than that of a renal punch biopsy. Our findings bridge anatomical scales, profiling blood vessels across the intact human kidney, with implications for renal physiology, biophysical modelling, and tissue engineering.

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“…Synthetic tree generation relies on the principle that the blood vessels supply the tissues by filling the tissue volume while minimizing required work. Previous tree generation strategies include constrained constructive optimization, staged growth-based constrained constructive optimization, nonlinear programming based constrained constructive optimization, and supply-demand relationship based tree generation methods (Blanco et al 2021;Capasso et al 2013;Coppini et al 1997;Heck et al 2015;Jaquet et al 2019;Jessen et al 2022;Karch et al 1999Karch et al , 2000Levine et al 2001;Milde et al 2013;Mittal et al 2005;Perfahl et al 2017;Shen et al 2021;Schreiner et al 2006;Smith et al 2000;Spill et al 2015;Tawhai et al 2000;Talou et al 2021;Wang and Bassingthwaighte 1990;Yang and Wang 2013). The constrained constructive optimization (CCO) methods are the most widely used tree generation algorithms so far (Blanco et al 2021;Jaquet et al 2019;Karch et al 1999Karch et al , 2000Schreiner et al 2006;Talou et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, when the algorithm is implemented for multiple sources, they compete with each other while filling the tissues and may require additional constraints to develop more realistic vascular networks (Jaquet et al 2019;Papamanolis et al 2021). Recently, there was a study to optimize the algorithm by executing with a domain decomposition strategy and this approach improved the execution time (Blanco et al 2021). The staged growth-based constrained constructive optimization methods were developed to fill the prescribed biological tissues based on the observation that some blood vessels fill certain areas of the tissues first before supplying the remaining areas of the tissue domain (Karch et al 2000;Talou et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tissue-growth-based synthetic tree generation and perfusion simulation

Kim

Rundfeldt²,

Lee³

2023

Biomech Model Mechanobiol

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Biological tissues receive oxygen and nutrients from blood vessels by developing an indispensable supply and demand relationship with the blood vessels. We implemented a synthetic tree generation algorithm by considering the interactions between the tissues and blood vessels. We first segment major arteries using medical image data and synthetic trees are generated originating from these segmented arteries. They grow into extensive networks of small vessels to fill the supplied tissues and satisfy the metabolic demand of them. Further, the algorithm is optimized to be executed in parallel without affecting the generated tree volumes. The generated vascular trees are used to simulate blood perfusion in the tissues by performing multiscale blood flow simulations. One-dimensional blood flow equations were used to solve for blood flow and pressure in the generated vascular trees and Darcy flow equations were solved for blood perfusion in the tissues using a porous model assumption. Both equations are coupled at terminal segments explicitly. The proposed methods were applied to idealized models with different tree resolutions and metabolic demands for validation. The methods demonstrated that realistic synthetic trees were generated with significantly less computational expense compared to that of a constrained constructive optimization method. The methods were then applied to cerebrovascular arteries supplying a human brain and coronary arteries supplying the left and right ventricles to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed methods. The proposed methods can be utilized to quantify tissue perfusion and predict areas prone to ischemia in patient-specific geometries.

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Parallel generation of extensive vascular networks with application to an archetypal human kidney model

Cited by 13 publications

References 52 publications

Design of artificial vascular devices: Hemodynamic evaluation of shear-induced thrombogenicity

Design of artificial vascular devices: Hemodynamic evaluation of shear-induced thrombogenicity

Mapping the blood vasculature in an intact human kidney using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography

Tissue-growth-based synthetic tree generation and perfusion simulation

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