Quetzal proposes to develop a virtual cardiac environment for predicting the in vivo performance of pacing and defibrillator lead or catheter designs in standard and novel clinical applications. The user will select one of a library of beating hearts derived from clinical 3D ultrasound data, validated against a detailed in-vitro study as part of the proposed research. The user will interactively """"""""implant"""""""" the lead or catheter in the virtual heart and specify the material properties (or range of possible properties for parameter studies) for a particular lead design. The lead motion through a heartbeat will be calculated accurately and efficiently as it interacts with the heart subject to the boundary conditions imposed by the moving endocardium wall. The resulting curvatures and forces exerted by the lead on the heart wall and vice-versa will be displayed in the beating heart and archived for later use (e.g.. fatigue studies). Unlike current laboratory, animal and clinical test methods, this virtual clinical environment will enable designers, manufacturers, regulatory personnel and cardiologists to rapidly assess the behavior of leads and catheters in a wide range of potential placements in either standard or novel clinical applications for a broad spectrum of heart types.
In the proposed virtual design and evaluation environment, designers, manufacturers, cardiologists and regulators can rapidly assess the behavior of new lead and catheter designs in a wide range of potential clinical applications and across a broad spectrum of data from actual hearts. For manufacturers, this product potentially cuts development and testing time, speeding new and novel products through the approval process and on to market. For regulators and cardiologists, the product provides and independent evaluation tool for lead and catheter performance subject to accurate models of the beating heart.
