# Modeling and Assessment of Maternal Uteroplacental Circulation During Pregnancy

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $45,520

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
In this proposal I am interested in developing a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling approach for
volumetric assessment of human uteroplacental blood flow in vivo. The placenta is an organ that exchanges
nutrients and oxygen between the maternal circulation and the growing fetus. In the United States, about 3.4%
of pregnancies per year are affected by hypertensive pregnancy disorders (HPD) such as preeclampsia (PE),
which have been found to carry both fetal and maternal risk. Associated placental pathologies are believed to
be linked to alterations in maternal arterial remodeling. Currently, Doppler ultrasound (US) is the primary method
of assessing flow to the placenta from the uterine artery (UtA). Clinical studies have shown a relationship
between high UtA flow resistance and risk of adverse pregnancy outcome late in gestation, but it has not been
reliable as an early gestation screening tool. In order to improve predictive technologies for reliable risk
assessment assessment of HPD, more research into the relationship between vessel structure and function in
the UtA is needed. I hypothesize that CFD modeling can be a useful tool for investigating possible
pathophysiological mechanisms of HPD by simulating complex hemodynamics of the maternal vascular system
including pressure, wall shear stress, and pulse wave velocity. I plan to set up various 1D CFD simulations to
understand the hemodynamic parameters of normal versus abnormal pregnancies. Then, I will validate the
simulations with 4D flow MRI acquired from an in vitro flow phantom and a cohort of normal and hypertensive
pregnant women. I anticipate that the results of this investigation can advance scientific knowledge regarding
the progression of early HPD phenotypes to adverse pregnancy outcomes. This CFD study can also demonstrate
the extent to which patient-specific hemodynamic simulations can be reliable for future improvement of clinical
management.
This training experience will provide opportunities to build my expertise in cardiovascular physiology, fluid
mechanics, medical imaging, data analysis, and clinical care. I will be publishing articles on my CFD/4D flow
MRI findings and communicating the impact of this work in medicine at various internal and external symposia.
This research will be conducted under the mentorship of award-winning experts and the University of
Pennsylvania in cardiovascular MRI (Walter Witschey), fluid mechanics and computational modeling (Paris
Perdikaris), maternal fetal medicine (Nadav Schwartz) and cardiovascular physiology (Victor Ferrari).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9991192
- **Project number:** 1F31HD100171-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Eileen Hwuang
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $45,520
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9991192

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9991192, Modeling and Assessment of Maternal Uteroplacental Circulation During Pregnancy (1F31HD100171-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9991192. Licensed CC0.

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