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Updated: Feb 6, 2026
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Biaxial Mechanical Characterizations of Atrioventricular Heart Valves
Published on: April 9, 2019
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Fully coupled fluid-electro-mechanical model of the human heart for supercomputers
Alfonso Santiago1, Jazmín Aguado-Sierra1, Miguel Zavala-Aké1
1Department of Computer Applications in Science and Engineering, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona, Spain.
Summary
We developed a coupled fluid-electro-mechanical heart model for supercomputers. This computational workbench simulates cardiac function, integrating blood flow, electrophysiology, and solid mechanics for advanced research.
Area of Science:
- Computational Biology
- Multiphysics Simulation
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Accurate cardiac modeling is crucial for understanding heart function and disease.
- Previous models often lacked integrated fluid-electro-mechanical coupling.
- High-performance computing is essential for complex physiological simulations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a fully coupled fluid-electro-mechanical model of a human heart.
- To implement and validate this model on a high-performance computing platform.
- To establish a computational cardiac workbench for research.
Main Methods:
- Incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with ALE for blood flow.
- Monodomain scheme with O'Hara-Rudy model for electrophysiology.
- Total Lagrangian formulation with Holzapfel-Ogden model for solid mechanics.
- Simultaneous, bidirectional coupling of fluid, electrical, and mechanical components.
Main Results:
- Successful implementation of a fully coupled heart model on the Alya supercomputing code.
- Demonstration of integrated electromechanical feedback and fluid-structure interaction.
- Validation of the model's capability to simulate complex cardiac dynamics.
Conclusions:
- The presented model offers a comprehensive approach to cardiac simulation.
- This computational workbench enables advanced research into cardiac electrophysiology and mechanics.
- The integrated multiphysics model has significant potential for clinical applications and drug development.
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