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| In the Cardiovascular Physics section biomechanics of blood vessels and the distribution of blood in the coronary circulation are subjects of research. A long-term program is on the regulation and implications of stress in the wall of arterial blood vessels. The wall stress determines the vessel diameter which is an important geometrical parameter controlling the blood supply to the tissues. Results of experiments on single isolated blood vessels are used to model the distribution of blood flow within organs. For this purpose a fluid mechanical model of the arterial tree has been developed and is used to predict flow distributions under various physiological conditions. | ||||
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An interdisciplinary research program in collaboration with the Dept. of Cardiology, is on the assessment of coronary circulation in health and disease, where physiological measurements and novel engineering analysis methods are combined to translate findings from basic research into clinical applications with the goal to better understand the effect of different vascular and metabolic disease processes on the coronary microcirculation in patients. |
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| A relatively new program is on the mechanics
and molecular transport mechanisms in the endothelial cell glycocalyx.
The endothelial cell glycocalyx covers the luminal endothelial cell
surface and mediates the interaction between blood constituents and the
vessel wall. The role of alterations in the glycocalyx in early
pathogenesis of atherosclerotic vascular disease is studied using a wide
range of experimental techniques including biochemical assays, 3D
reconstruction of vessel images obtained with fluorescence microscopy, in
vivo microscope observations and electron microscopy of the glycocalyx. Coronary arterial structure and myocardial flow distribution |
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| MAIN PAGE RESEARCH PROGRAMS | ||||
