Mathematical modelling of the human foetal cardiovascular system based on Doppler ultrasound data.

A lumped parameter model of the human foetal circulation primarily based on blood velocity data derived from the Doppler analysis was developed in this study. It consists of two major parts, the heart and the foetal vascular circulation. The heart model accounts for both ventricular and atrial contractility. The circulation was divided into 19 compliant vascular compartments in order to describe all of the clinically monitored sites. The model parameters refer to the final gestation period and were derived either from literature on foetal sheep circulation or from anatomical dimension monitoring of the human foetus. No control mechanism is incorporated into the model. The model was validated by comparing several index values of simulated velocity curves to those of the experimental Doppler waveforms. The mean and maximum percentual errors in the estimation of the experimental results by the model are 7.7% and 20.1%, respectively. Velocity and pressure tracings of the foetal circulation were investigated, as well as regional blood flow rate distribution.