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\begin{document}

\title{Network-Based Characterization of Blood Large-Scale Coherent Motion in
the Healthy Human Aorta with 4D Flow MRI}



\author[1]{Karol Calò }%
\author[2]{Diego Gallo }%
\author[2]{Andrea Guala }%
\author[2]{Maurizio Lodi Rizzini }%
\author[2]{Lydia Dux-Santoy }%
\author[2]{Jose Rodriguez-Palomares }%
\author[2]{Stefania Scarsoglio }%
\author[2]{Luca Ridolfi }%
\author[2]{Umberto Morbiducci }%
\affil[1]{PolitoBIOMed Lab}%
\affil[2]{Affiliation not available}%


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  \date{May 24, 2024}


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\begin{abstract}
\textbf{Objective}: The need for distilling the hemodynamic complexity
into clinically relevant quantities has imposed a reductionist approach
to investigate aortic flows, resulting in a lossy compression of the
information hidden in 4D aortic fluid structures. Aiming at reducing
information loss, this study proposes a network-based approach to
identify and characterize in vivo the large-scale coherent motion of
blood in the healthy human aorta using 4D Flow MRI. \textbf{Methods}:
Adopting the quantitative paradigm of the aortic flow as a ``social
network'', 4D flow MRI acquisitions were performed on forty-one healthy
volunteers. Correlations between the aortic blood flow rate waveform at
the proximal ascending aorta (AAo), assumed as a main determinant of the
aortic flow, and the waveforms of the axial velocity (aligned with the
aortic centerline) in the whole aorta were used to build
\emph{``one-to-all''} networks. The impact of the driving flow rate
waveform and of the main aortic geometric attributes on the transport of
large-scale coherent fluid structures was investigated.
\textbf{Results}: The anatomical length of persistence of large-scale
coherent motion was the 29.6\% of the healthy thoracic aorta length
(median value, IQR 23.1\%-33.9\%). Moreover, it was positively
correlated with the average and peak-to-peak AAo blood flow rate values,
suggesting a remarkable inertial effect of the AAo flow rate on aortic
hemodynamic coherence. No association emerged between the anatomical
length of persistence and aortic geometric attributes.
\textbf{Conclusion}: The here proposed in vivo approach allowed to
quantitatively characterize the large-scale aortic blood motion,
strengthening the definition of coherent hemodynamic structures.
\textbf{Significance}: The findings on healthy aortas may be used as
reference values to investigate the impact of aortic disease or devices
implantation in disrupting/restoring the physiological spatiotemporal
coherence of large-scale aortic flow.%
\end{abstract}%



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