Past Event: Oden Institute Seminar

Computational Modeling of Cardiac Tissues

Frank Sachse, Bioengineering Department and a faculty investigator, Nora Eccles Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute

Abstract

Computational models play an important role in studies of cardiac tissue physiology and pathophysiology. Several types of models have been developed applying knowledge from histological and physiological studies. For instance, the prevalent monodomain and bidomain models describe cardiac electrical conduction based on studies of cellular electrophysiology and intercellular electrical coupling. An assumption underlying most models of cardiac conduction is that muscle cells (myocytes) are the predominant cell type in cardiac tissue. In contrast our multidomain model represents cardiac tissue as a mixture of various cell types. We developed approaches for deriving parameters for multidomain models from three-dimensional reconstructions of cardiac tissue at sub-micrometer resolution. We created the reconstructions using image data from fluorescent labeling and scanning confocal microscopy. In this talk I will give an overview of our approaches for multidomain modeling and microscopy-based derivation of model parameters. I will present findings from our studies of cellular remodeling in cardiac infarction and fibrosis. I will discuss applications of the developed approaches in computational studies of tissue remodeling in disease and restoration after therapy. Bio: Frank B. Sachse received a diploma in computer science in 1992 and a PhD in electrical engineering in 1997 from the Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Germany. In 2002, he habilitated in biomedical engineering with the thesis “Mathematical Modeling of the Mammalian Heart”. Since 2003, he works at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Bioengineering Department and a faculty investigator at the Nora Eccles Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute. His research group applies microscopic imaging and computational approaches to gain insights into structure and function of cardiac tissues, cells and proteins. Areas of research include cellular remodeling in heart failure, computational modeling, and confocal microscopy. Dr. Sachse taught classes on biomedical engineering, modeling of the cardiovascular system, and biomedical imaging at universities in Germany, Finland, Spain and the USA. He received several awards for his work, for instance, from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, and a visiting fellowship at the Isaac Newton Institute For Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, UK.