A Fluid-Structure Interaction Model of the Zebrafish Aortic Valve

TL;DR

This paper develops a computational fluid-structure interaction model of the zebrafish aortic valve, enabling detailed study of its mechanics and blood flow, which was previously limited by unknown tissue properties.

Contribution

It introduces a first-principles, design-based elasticity approach to derive zebrafish valve properties for FSI simulations, advancing modeling capabilities.

Findings

Realistic flow rates under physiological pressures

Demonstration of spatiotemporal valvular dynamics

Potential for future cardiac disease studies

Abstract

The zebrafish is a valuable model organism for studying cardiac development and diseases due to its many shared aspects of genetics and anatomy with humans and ease of experimental manipulations. Computational fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations are an efficient and highly controllable means to study the function of cardiac valves in development and diseases. Due to their small scales, little is known about the mechanical properties of zebrafish cardiac valves, limiting existing computational studies of zebrafish valves and their interaction with blood. To circumvent these limitations, we took a largely first-principles approach called design-based elasticity that allows us to derive valve geometry, fiber orientation and material properties. In FSI simulations of an adult zebrafish aortic valve, these models produce realistic flow rates when driven by physiological pressures and demonstrate the spatiotemporal dynamics of valvular mechanical properties. These models can be used for future studies of zebrafish cardiac hemodynamics, development, and disease.