High temporal resolution finite element simulations of the aorta for thoracic impedance cardiography

Impedance cardiography (ICG) is a simple and cheap method to acquire hemodynamic parameters. Unfortunately, not all physiologic influences on the ICG signal have been identified, yet. In this work, the influence of the dynamics of the aorta have been analyzed using a simplified model of the human thorax with a high temporal resolution based on MRI data. Therefore, simulations have been conducted using the finite integration technique (FIT) with a temporal resolution of 125 Hz. The basis for the modeled aortic diameter change is a pulse wave propagation along the aorta derived by experimental results. It has been shown that the aorta is a major contributor to the impedance cardiogram which supports the model assumptions of Kubicek.