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Constitutive modeling is the cornerstone of computational and structural mechanics. In a finite element analysis, the constitutive model is encoded in the material subroutine, a function that maps local strains onto stresses. This function is called within every finite element, at each integration point, within every time step, at each Newton iteration. Today's finite element packages offer large libraries of material models to choose from. However, the scientific criteria for appropriate model selection remain highly subjective and prone to user bias. Here we fully automate the process of model selection, autonomously discover the best model and parameters from experimental data, encode all possible discoverable models into a single material subroutine, and seamlessly integrate this universal material subroutine into a finite element analysis. We prototype this strategy for incompressible, isotropic, hyperelastic soft matter systems that we characterize through a combination of twelve possible terms. These terms feature the first and second invariants, raised to the first and second powers, embedded in the identity, exponential, and logarithmic functions, generating 22×2×3= 4096 models in total. We demonstrate how to integrate these models into a single universal material subroutine that features the classical neo Hooke, Blatz Ko, Mooney Rivlin, Demiray, Gent, and Holzapfel models as special cases. Finite element simulations with our new universal material subroutine show that it specializes well to these widely used models, generalizes well to newly discovered models, and agrees excellently with both experimental data and previous simulations. It also performs well within realistic finite element simulations and accurately predicts stress concentrations in the human brain for six different head impact scenarios. We anticipate that integrating automated model discovery into a universal material subroutine will generalize naturally to more complex comp, Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology

Single ventricle patients, including those with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), typically undergo three palliative heart surgeries culminating in the Fontan procedure. HLHS is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, and many patients develop arrhythmias, electrical dyssynchrony, and eventually ventricular failure. However, the correlation between ventricular enlargement and electrical dysfunction in HLHS physiology remains poorly understood. Here we characterize the relationship between growth and electrophysiology in HLHS using computational modeling. We integrate a personalized finite element model, a volumetric growth model, and a personalized electrophysiology model to perform controlled in silico experiments. We show that right ventricle enlargement negatively affects QRS duration and interventricular dyssynchrony. Conversely, left ventricle enlargement can partially compensate for this dyssynchrony. These findings have potential implications on our understanding of the origins of electrical dyssynchrony and, ultimately, the treatment of HLHS patients., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology

Computational heart modeling is a promising approach for improving the prognosis of patients born with congenital heart defects. To create accurate physics-based digital cardiac twins of this population, it is crucial to accurately represent the highly diverse and unique subject-specific heart geometry. In young pediatric patients, this is a challenging endeavor given the lack of high-spatial-resolution imaging data and the risk of slice misalignment. In this study, we set up a multistep shape morphing and slice correction approach to accommodate these challenges and establish a population of biventricular heart models for a variety of healthy, Fallot, and Fontan pediatric patients., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology

Background: Maintaining balanced left and right cardiac outputs in a total artificial heart (TAH) is challenging due to the need for continuous adaptation to changing hemodynamic conditions. Proper balance in ventricular outputs of the left and right ventricles requires a preload-sensitive response and mechanisms to address the higher volumetric efficiency of the right ventricle. Methods: This review provides a comprehensive overview of various methods used to balance left and right ventricular outputs in pulsatile total artificial hearts, categorized based on their actuation mechanism. Results: Reported strategies include incorporating compliant materials and/or air cushions inside the ventricles, employing active control mechanisms to regulate ventricular filling state, and utilizing various shunts (such as hydraulic or intra-atrial shunts). Furthermore, reducing right ventricular stroke volume compared to the left often serves to balance the ventricular outputs. Individually controlled actuation of both ventricles in a pulsatile TAH seems to be the simplest and most effective way to achieve proper preload sensitivity and left–right output balance. Pneumatically actuated TAHs have the advantage to respond passively to preload changes. Conclusion: Therefore, a pneumatic TAH that comprises two individually actuated ventricles appears to be a more desirable option—both in terms of simplicity and efficacy—to respond to changing hemodynamic conditions., Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology

Impaired cardiac filling in response to increased passive myocardial stiffness contributes to the pathophysiology of heart failure. By leveraging cardiac MRI data and ventricular pressure measurements, we can estimate in vivo passive myocardial stiffness using personalized inverse finite element models. While it is well-known that this approach is subject to uncertainties, only few studies quantify the accuracy of these stiffness estimates. This lack of validation is, at least in part, due to the absence of ground truth in vivo passive myocardial stiffness values. Here, using 3D printing, we created soft, homogenous, isotropic, hyperelastic heart phantoms of varying geometry and stiffness and simulate diastolic filling by incorporating the phantoms into an MRI-compatible left ventricular inflation system. We estimate phantom stiffness from MRI and pressure data using inverse finite element analyses based on a Neo-Hookean model. We demonstrate that our identified softest and stiffest values of 215.7 and 512.3 kPa agree well with the ground truth of 226.2 and 526.4 kPa. Overall, our estimated stiffnesses revealed a good agreement with the ground truth (< 5.8 % error) across all models. Our results suggest that MRI-driven computational constitutive modeling can accurately estimate synthetic heart material stiffnesses in the range of 200–500 kPa., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology