Problem
Fontan patients face elevated thrombosis risk, but identifying where and why risk concentrates inside patient-specific anatomies remains challenging. I investigated whether detailed flow metrics can locate high-risk regions under realistic respiratory and inflow conditions.
Approach
- Build a patient-specific TCPC model with clinically relevant boundary conditions.
- Include turbulence modeling, hepatic inflow effects, and respiratory waveform variation.
- Quantify shear rate, elongation rate, helicity, and particle-age indicators.
- Compare high-flow and low-flow conditions to map risk asymmetry.
Key finding
The study identified distinct zones with elevated high-shear and low-shear thrombotic potential. Risk location depended strongly on local geometry and transient inflow regime.
Why it matters
Better localization of hemodynamic risk supports targeted monitoring and can help prioritize intervention planning for vulnerable Fontan patients.
Outputs
- MSc thesis: L. Schutte - Computational modelling of thrombotic risk in the Fontan circulation
- Additional outputs are integrated through ongoing Fontan studies.