Personalized blood flow computations: A hierarchical parameter estimation framework for tuning boundary conditions.

We propose a hierarchical parameter estimation framework for performing patient-specific hemodynamic computations in arterial models, which use structured tree boundary conditions. A calibration problem is formulated at each stage of the hierarchical framework, which seeks the fixed point solution of a nonlinear system of equations. Common hemodynamic properties, like resistance and compliance, are estimated at the first stage in order to match the objectives given by clinical measurements of pressure and/or flow rate.