Development of a electro-mechano-fluidic biological model

生物组织的建模非常复杂。电信号可以引起细胞收缩，细胞存在于液体环境中，它将周围所有细胞的力分散开来。系统的不同组成部分相互作用，因为细胞对压力、拉伸、电场和化学物质有反应。例如，拉伸一个细胞可能会改变它的电功能，从而改变它的收缩。心脏就是这样一个系统的例子。该项目旨在建立最完整的心脏模型，包括以下组成部分：几何逼真的形状，功能齐全的电气系统，包括快速传导系统，机械收缩，血液流动和功能齐全的心脏瓣膜。该模型将由三个不同且相互作用的组件组成：电模型、机械收缩模型和血流模拟器。将包括在不同部分之间提供反馈的机制。该项目的第一部分将是建立在现有模型的基础上，并使其与更几何逼真的电子模型一起工作。这将正确地计算触发机械收缩的电激活序列。该项目的第二部分将通过实施解决血流的新方法来提高模型的速度。计算流体的网格将适应，因此它将只在有趣的事情发生的地方具有高度的细节。最后，该模型将被扩展，以便通过治疗设备施加大电击的效果可以计算出来。这将是唯一完整的心脏模型。它的计算要求很高，但通过使用最先进的计算技术，我们将减轻很多负担。它将成为研究许多重要心脏现象的独特工具。

Biological tissue can be very complicated to model. Electrical signals can cause cell contraction, The cells exist in a liquid environment which distributes forces from all surrounding cells. The different components of the system interact since cells respond to pressure, stretch, electrical fields, and chemicals. For example, stretching a cell may alter its electrical function which will then alter contraction. The heart is an example of such a system.This project aims to build the most complete model of the heart comprising the following components: a geometrically realistic shape, a functioning electrical system including the fast conduction system, mechanical contraction, blood flow, and functioning heart valves. The model will be composed of three distinct and interacting components: an electrical model, a mechanically contracting model, and a blood flow simulator. Mechanisms that provide feedback between the different parts will be included.The first part of the project will be to build upon an existing model and make it work with more geometrically realistic electrical models. This will properly compute the electrical activation sequence that triggers the mechanical contraction.The second part of the project will improve the speed of the model by implementing a new method for solving the blood flow. The grid to compute the fluid will adapt so that it will have a high degree of detail only where interesting things occur.Finally, the model will be extended so that the effects of applying large electrical shocks, as delivered by therapeutic devices, can be computed.This will be the only complete model of the heart. It will be computationally demanding, but by using the most advanced computational techniques, we will reduce much of the burden. It will be a unique tool for the investigation of many  important cardiac phenomena.