Effect of material-property uncertainty on clinical correlations of biomechanical indices

Ascertain how quantified uncertainty in coronary artery model inputs—specifically uncertainty in strain energy function parameters and the resulting variability in finite element–predicted arterial wall stresses—translates to and affects correlations between biomechanical indices (such as wall stress metrics) and clinical observations or outcomes, thereby determining the implications of such uncertainty for the predictive power of these indices in clinical settings.

Background

The authors demonstrate that uncertainties in material parameters propagate to substantial variability in predicted transmural stresses, with adventitial anisotropic parameters dominating the variance. Many clinical and translational studies rely on correlations between biomechanical indices (e.g., wall stress) and clinical outcomes for prognostication and decision-making.

Despite establishing the presence and sources of uncertainty in model outputs, the authors explicitly state that it remains unknown how this uncertainty impacts the strength and reliability of correlations with clinical observations or outcomes, which is critical for the clinical utility of biomechanical indices.